Hicca and Her Dragon
by PurpleHeart678
Summary: Hicca might be the daughter of the Chief, but that doesn't stop her from being a screw up in her village, or stop the teasing from the other teens. The only thing she has in common with other Vikings is the fact that she needs to kill a dragon to prove herself. When the opportunity finally presents itself however, she is unable to go through with it. But what will happen afterward?
1. I Hit It!

**Hey, I'm back with a new story! I know I already have a few that I need to update on(I swear, I am trying!), but whenever I get a new story idea, I have to put it up for you to see! But first things first; Ever since the trailer for 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' came out I've been watching the first one since forever, and I'm obsessed with it again! I can't wait for the new movie to come in theaters, I'M SO EXCITED! But, anyway, after watching the first one for some time, I came up with my own story for it. ****Yes, I am aware that there are several fanfics like this, but I've had this one stuck in my head forever and now I'm going for it! Now, to business.**

******P.S.: This story contains Fem!Hiccup, Male!Astrid, and a Shape-Shifting!Toothless. Enjoy!**

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Hicca and Her Dragon

Ch. 1  
I Hit It!

This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Gosh, girl, why can't you be more positive?' Well, you wouldn't be very positive either if the place I was talking about was your home.

My village. In a word; sturdy. It's been here for seven generations but every single building is new. And here, it doesn't take a genius to know why. We have fishing, hunting and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, while most places have mice or mosquitoes, we have…

"_Dragons_!" I breathed excitedly. I had just opened my front door to see why there was so much noise outside, only to be greeted by a pissed off Monstrous Nightmare. It had spotted me and had shot a large blast of fire my way, but I closed the door at the last second. Now the front door sat burning in the flames.

I yanked the door opened and jumped outside. After sparing the house a glance to see the damage(a new door was definitely needed), I turned around to see my village in total uproar. Yep, dragons. Most people would leave. Not us, we're Vikings; we have stubbornness issues. No, you seriously have no idea how bad it is with these people. I mean, alright, I'm a little stubborn too, but compared to the entire village I might as well not be stubborn at all.

Who am I, you ask? My name's Hicca. Hicca Horrendous Haddock III, to be exact. Great name, I know, especially for a girl, huh? But it's not so bad. My parents were going to name me Hiccup if I was a boy, but instead they got a girl. My dad was still going to name me Hiccup(probably because he really desired a boy), but my mom decided a more feminine name was best. Either way, I don't dislike my name at all. It could be a lot worse. Viking parents believe a hideous name will ward off gnomes and trolls. Like our _charming_ Viking demeanor wouldn't do that already.

As I continued running through the town one of the houses suddenly exploded. There was a loud yell as a very large Viking came crashing down, just barley not crushing me.

"AAAAARRRRGGHH! Mornin'!"

Ignoring his insane happiness, I got up as soon as he left and started running through the entire mess, trying not to bump into people. But even as I avoided them I was still getting shouted at.

"What are you doin' here?"

"Get inside!"

"What are you doin' out?"

"Get back inside!"

I ignored all these commands and continued running through, trying hard to get to the forge(aka: the blacksmith area). I moved left and right, trying to doge fireballs and other Vikings.

"HICCA!"

At that point I felt a large beefy hand grab me by my collar and hoist me up off the ground. Did I ever mention that that happens a lot. And I _hate_ it!

"What is _she_ doin' out agai- What are you doin' out? Get inside!"

I was roughly tossed forward and I continued running. That was Stoik the Vast, Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby he popped a dragons' head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it? …Yes I do.

I continued running, still blocking out the yells of 'what are you doing?' and 'get inside!' Within no time I was finally at the forge. As soon as I entered I took off my brown fur vest and replaced it with my apron. I was greeted kindly(finally) by the blacksmith working behind me, who was hammering with the large hammer he had instead of an arm.

"Oh, nice of you tah join the party. I thought you'd been carried off."

"Wha-Who? Me? Nah, come on, I'm _way_ too muscular for their taste," I lifted a heavy hammer up and put it on some nails on the wall. "I mean, they wouldn't know what to do with all…_this_!"

I struck a muscular pose, exposing the nonexistent muscles in my arms. The blacksmith rolled his eyes, but was still grinning.

"Well, they need toothpicks, don't they?"

I stuck my tongue out at him playfully before opening the small doors. Several Vikings came up at once with a few swords, urging for me to hurry and fix them.

Encase you're wondering, the meathead with the attitude and the interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well…littl_er. _He's been friends with my dad since before I was born. See, when I was six my artistic trait started to show. I've always loved to draw and be creative, and when my dad took me to the forge for the first time I was fascinated by Gobber's creative work with blacksmithing. I ended up being his apprentice after that. I actually loved it. It give me a chance to be artistic with my work, not to mention I love making all kinds of weapons. Since I'm so small it's hard for me to use other weapons like a normal Viking, so I always try to modify some of them so I could actually use them.

As I continued to work I managed to lean my head to the side so I could peak outside. Still chaos, all around. I looked over to the side and I saw a house suddenly burst into flames. See? Old village, lots and lots of new houses.

"FIRE!"

"Alright, let's go!"

I whipped my head around and leaned outside. I could see a large barrel being pulled by a crate, and around it I saw several figures, all of them carrying buckets of water. They all were the only other teens in the village. That's Fishlegs, my cousin Snotlout, the Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and…Austen.

I stared out at him even as the house exploded into a wall of fire, surrounding his figure in an almost sexy glow. I rolled my eyes a little. For the longest time since I was six I had the biggest crush on Austen. We used to talk a bit when we were kids, but after he turned sixteen he started being a jerk. He never picked on me like Snotlout or the Twins did, but he wouldn't defend me either. In fact, he usually acted like I didn't even exist. And whenever he did acknowledge my presents, he'd just glare at me like I did something wrong. I think it's fair to say that my 'crush' on Austen is pretty much gone by now. _Ohh_…but their job is so much cooler than mine.

Suddenly I felt something hook up under my collar and yank me up so my feet were off the ground. I yelped as I was pulled back inside, and when I turned my head I saw that it was Gobber. _What the hell?! He knows I hate that!_

"Aww, Gobber!" I wined. "Come on! I already get manhandled enough by the whole village, why do you have to do it to?"

"They do it out of irritation, I do it 'cause I'm tryin' tah keep yah from hurtin' yourself. Again!"

Gobber set me down, a stern look on his face. I couldn't help but roll my eyes from my own irritation.

"Oh, for the love of- just let me out! I need to make my mark!"

"Oh, you've made plenty of marks," he said, and he poked my stomach with his hook. "All in the wrong places!"

"Please, just give me two minutes!" I begged. "I'll kill a dragon, my life will get infinitely better, hell, I might even get asked out on a date."

"Not if you're father has anything to say about it," Gobber turned towards me. "Look, Hicca, I'm really sorry tah say this, but you wouldn't last a minute in battle. You can lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one o' these."

Gobber held up a large bola(metal balls attached by rope) in his hand. A second later it was snatched away by another Viking who used it to take down a Gronkle. Ignoring Gobber, I pushed passed him and walked back towards my bola-launcher. It was a really neat invention I had been working on for over a month now. Since I really couldn't throw a bola, I made this so it would just shoot it for me.

"Okay, fine, but _this_ will throw it for me."

I patted the surface of my invention, which somehow accidentally triggered it, sending the bola flying. Gobber dodged it and it flew out the window, hitting another Viking in the face. I hissed as he hit the ground with a loud _thud._

"Sorry!" I called out.

"See, now this right here is what I'm talkin' about!" Gobber said sternly, marching up to me.

I shook my head. "Mild calibration issue…"

"Hicca. If you ever want tah get out there tah fight dragons, you need to stop all…this."

Gobber gestured his arms all over me. I frowned.

"But, you just pointed to all of me!"

"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you."

"Oohh…"

"Oohh, yes," he mimicked.

"You, sir, are playing a very dangerous game," I said, trying to sound threatening. "Keeping this much, raw…Viking-ness contained. There will be consequences!"

"I'll take my chances," Gobber tossed a sword into my arms. "Sword. Sharpen. Now."

"Ugh, w-whatever," I grunted.

I lift the sword in my arms and laid it on the grinding wheel. I start to sharpen it, concentrating carefully.

One day I'll get out there. I have to. Because killing a dragon is everything around here. There are several

kinds of dragons that come here, all of which could help me if I killed at least one. A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed. Gronkles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a boyfriend(or at least _some _kind of affection from a boy). A Zippleback? Exotic; two heads, twice the status. And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. Reason why; they have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire. But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the-

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

_KABOOM_! The sound of the catapult exploding filled the air, shaking the whole village. I stopped sharpening the sword and leaned out the window, staring up at the sky. This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and…_never_ misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury, that's why I'm gonna be the first.

I turned around and went back inside the stall. I saw Gobber trade his hammer for a large axe.

"Man the fort, Hicca, they need me out there!" he headed for the door, then stopped and turned to face me. "Stay…Put…There… Yah know what I mean!"

I stared at him as he gave a loud yell and ran into the fray. I smirked. Did he honestly think I was gonna stay here? Ha!

I quickly grabbed my launcher and pushed it outside through the cluster of Vikings. I swerved through the mayhem, just narrowly avoiding other people.

"Hicca, where are you goin'?"

"Come back here!"

"I know, be right back!" I called out.

I continued running until I came to the top of a large cliff. I brought the launcher to the edge and dropped the handles on the ground. I unfolded it, cranking several levers and bowed the arms. I dropped a bola into a chamber and then pointed the weapon up towards the sky. I stood there, waiting for something to present itself.

"C'mon," I muttered. "Give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at…"

I stared up at the sky, listening carefully for something, anything. Then there was a loud whistling sound that started echoing, slowly growing louder and louder. I thought I could see a black shape against the dark blue sky. There was a loud swooshing sound and another tower burst into flames, and to my surprise, the large black shape was illuminated for a split second. Taking careful aim I quickly pulled the trigger. The force pushed me back and I fell flat on my back. I sat up as quick as I could and looked up as a loud _screech_ filled the air. I saw the dragon fly down, crashing down just off Raven Point.

Two seconds of shocked silence followed as I stared in amazement.

"I…I hit it?"

I smiled as I realized that I did, indeed, hit it. I jumped up, yelling in triumph.

"Yes, I hit it! Did anybody see that?"

But my victory was not to last. Behind me there was a loud crashing sound mixed with the sound of splintering wood. I flinched, then slowly turned around. There, right in front of me, was the large Monstrous Nightmare, its large foot on top of what was left of my launcher.

"Except for you," I said bluntly.

The Nightmare reared its head back, a low grow building in its throat, and small flames flaring from its nostrils. I knew exactly what that meant. Without hesitating I turned on my heal and started sprinting as fast as I could. I could hear the Nightmare behind me, trying to snap at me. It was times like this that made me happy I was smaller. Small and skinny made it easier to get away. I might not look it, but I'm very fast. But still, this dragon was right behind me and gaining speed.

I ran back into the village, dodging several fire blasts. Thinking I could just hide, I ran up behind a brazier pole and waited. A blast of fire hit it, surrounding the whole thing and just barley missing me. I turned around, avoiding the flames, and tried to see if the Nightmare was still there. Unfortunately at that point I heard growling coming from behind me. Suddenly the Chief seemed to jump out of nowhere and tackled the dragon. They had a small stare-off, and the dragon tried to blast more of its fire, but only a small spark came out. The dragon gave a look that said 'uh-oh' as the chief smirked.

"You're all out."

He marched forward, raising his beefy fists. He punched and kicked the Nightmare several times before it backed up and flew away. Suddenly the pole I was standing behind broke due to the base being burned so badly. It fell to the side, exposing me; just standing there simply. The iron basket that was once on top of the pole bounced down the hill, destroying everything in its path, and scattering all the Vikings. I hissed, winced, and made several expressions as I watched the destruction.

Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know…

"Sorry, dad…"

Yep. I'm the chief's daughter. But not only am I his only daughter, I'm also his only _child_. So, you can see why he'd be upset that I wasn't a boy.

I looked up at the sky to see all the Nadders that the men had caught earlier were now free, and carrying most of our sheep with them. I had a bad feeling that that was my fault. I bit my lip nervously, turning slowly to look at my dad. He had a unreadable glare all over his face. I didn't know what to do, so I just shrugged and pointed outward.

"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."

I yelped as my dad grabbed me by my collar and started dragging me away. My feet slid across the ground as I tried to explain.

"No, dad, I mean it! This isn't like last time or the one before, I really actually hit it this time! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. I saw it! I saw it go down just off Raven Point. We need to get a search party out there before-"

"STOP!"

I quickly shut my mouth, wincing a little bit at the loudness. My dad let me go and turned to look at me.

"Just…stop. Every time you step outside, _disaster_ follows! Can you not see that I got bigger problems? Winter is almost here and I have an entire village tah feed!"

"…Well, between you and me the village could do with a little _less_ feeding, don't yah think?"

It's true. I'm pretty much the only thin person in the whole village. I often cracked a few fat jokes here and there, and sometimes the others would laugh. Other times I actually thought we had a problem, and it needed to be fixed. Then it wasn't so funny.

"This isn't a joke, Hicca!" my dad snapped. "Ugh, why can't yah follow the simplest orders?"

"I-I can't stop myself!" I defended. "I see a dragon and I have to just…_ kill it_, yah know? It's who I am, dad."

I shrugged in an 'I'm sorry I'm me' sort of way. My dad rubbed his forehead, looking stressed.

"Oh, you are many things Hicca, but a dragon killer is not one of them. Get back to the house. Make sure she gets there," he said to Gobber, who smacked the back of my head. "I have her mess to clean up. Again…"

I sighed miserably as I was led away by Gobber. We passed up all the other Vikings, who were looking down at me in a disappointed way. Then as we passed up the other teens they laughed and pointed at me.

"Quite the performance," said Tuffnut, smirking before Ruffnut pushed him.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout said, starting to get into my face.

"Thank you, thank you, at least I was trying. So, yeah…"

I continued walking, purposely ignoring the glare Austen was currently shooting at me. There was a yelp behind me along with a _thud_, and I knew that Gobber must have pushed Snotlout down. He usually did that whenever he was around and he caught my cousin picking on me.

Me and Gobber continued to walk to my house, neither of us saying a word. I guess we didn't really know what to say. It wasn't until we were just outside my front door that I finally spoke.

"I swear, Gobber, I really hit one."

"Sure, Hicca."

I rolled my eyes. "My dad never listens."

"Well, it runs in the family."

"And whenever he dose it's always with this…disappointed scowl like someone skimped on meat in his sandwich," I turned and mimicked my dad's voice. "'Excuse me, barmaid, I'm afraid yah brough' me the wrong offspring. I ordered and extra large _boy_, one with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, not only is it a girl, it's nothin' but a talkin' fishbone!' Yeah, everything would be so much better if I was a boy, wouldn't it?"

"Now, don't say that," said Gobber. "Yah should know that yah father loves yah no matter what."

"But it's true!" I argued. "I'm his only kid and I'm a girl. Because of that he feels that he has every right to regret being my father."

"That's not true!" Gobber said sharply. "He doesn't regret having yah, and he neva will. Besides, you're looking at it all wrong. It's not so much what yah look like, it's not even the fact that you're a girl; it's what's _inside_ that he can't stand."

I stared at him, my jaw open and my brows furrowed. Was that suppose to help?!

"Thank you for summing that up," I said sarcastically, grabbing the door handle.

"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not."

"I just wanna be one of you guys," I said hopelessly.

Leaving Gobber outside, I went inside and closed the door. I sighed, hanging my head as I leaned against the surface of the door. I looked around for a moment, then I ran upstairs into my room. I looked around and saw my sketchbook laying on my desk. I grabbed it and my charcoal pencil and ran back downstairs. Looking at the front door once, I turned and pushed open the back door. I leaped down, staggering a little before regaining my balance and running out into the woods. I don't care if it takes all day, I'm going to find that dragon.

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**First chap so far. I hope you guys will like it. I already have the next chap written, so if you like this I'll post the next one reall**


	2. Who Am I?

**Well, I said I'd put the next one up if you guys liked the first, and so far you do! So, go ahead and read on!**

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Ch. 2  
Who Am I?

I had been out in the woods searching for the Night Fury for over an hour now. What did I have to show for it? Nothing but a map filled with x's, that's what. I looked into my sketchbook, tracing an imaginary line over the map I had drawn inside it until I stopped on the spot where I was. I closed my eyes and lifted my head up, praying for the dragon to be there. I opened my eyes.

Nothing.

Again.

"For crying out loud!"

I hung my head as I continued forward, crossing another 'x' into my book. Then my hand started shaking slightly, and I angrily scratched all over the map. I put my pencil in my book, snapped the book shut and placed it in my vest pocket.

"Ooh, the Gods hate me," I groaned miserably, kicking the dirt. "Some people lose their knife or their mug, but no, not me. I manage to lose and entire _freaking dragon_?!"

I let out an irritated yell as I pushed a low hanging branch out of my way. Only problem; it came back and smacked me in the face.

"OW! Damn it!"

I rubbed my eye and glared at the stupid branch, but I was not ready for what I saw. The tree I was standing next to looked like it had been split down the middle, bits of bark sticking out everywhere. I looked down at the other half that was just handing there and saw what looked like long trench leading down and over a small hill. I started walking down, following the trail and climbing when I got to the hill.

_Wonder what happened here, _I thought. _Who knows? Maybe this'll lead me to the… DRAGON!_

I gasped as I suddenly ducked my head back behind the hill. I swallowed as I slowly lifted my head up, trying to sneak another peek at the thing that was in front of me. I sat up straight and stared right at the thing in front of me. Big, black, and shielded by wings. Yep. It was the dragon.

I fumbled around in my vest before producing my very small dagger. It was the only weapon my dad would let me use because he thought I would kill myself with anything else. I put on the best determined look I could muster and quickly made my way towards the big rock, which was the only thing standing between me and the dragon. I took a deep breath and wiped my head around. The thing appeared to be unconscious, or maybe even dead.

"Wow, I…I did it?" I smiled. "Ooh, I did it! This fixes _everything_! Yes!"

Feeling rather cocky, I marched over and placed my foot on the leg of the dragon.

"I, Hicca, have brought down this mighty beast-"

It was at that moment that said 'beast' decided to push me off its leg. I gasped as I stepped back, standing against the rock. I held my dagger forward, although I'm pretty sure it would do no good if the thing got up and attacked me. I walked around, trying to get a good look at the dragons' face, and that's when I saw it. A pair of large, stunning electric green eyes, their slit-pupils staring back into my own. I stared at it for a moment, held still by fear. I took long slow breaths, regaining my ability to speak.

"I'm gonna kill you, dragon," I said in a low voice that didn't sound like my own. "I'm gonna…I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. Because…because I'm a Viking… I'M A VIKING!"

The dragon gave a small choking sound, as though asking me to stop. I ignored it as I prepared myself, and I lifted my dagger high. _Do it now_, I told myself. But just as I was about to plunge, something made me open my eyes, and I saw that the dragon was still staring at me. There was something in its eyes, something that I thought I'd never see in a dragon. Fear. It was terrified. Just like I am…

_What are you waiting for?! Kill it!_

I shook my head and concentrated on making my aim. The dragon gave a weak moan as it lowered its head to the ground. It had excepted its fate. It was heartbreaking…

_I…I…_

…_can't._

My hands fell down on top of my head, and I shook it. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill the dragon. I was the first Viking to single-handedly take down a Night Fury, and I couldn't bring myself to kill it. Something inside me was just telling me that it was wrong. But I don't know why… I looked down at the dagger in my hand, then at the dragon tangled the bola ropes, and suddenly I felt terribly ashamed of myself.

"I did this…"

Without thinking I turned and started to leave. I heard the dragon groan again, and I slowly turned my head. It looked pretty tided up in the ropes, I wasn't sure if it would get free. If it was able to get away it might've done so before I even got here. No, it was really stuck. What would happen to it? It would certainly die out here unless it got free. If another animal didn't attack it then it would just starve to death. Either way, it's dead. Unless…

I gritted my teeth together as I groaned.

"I'm gonna regret this…"

Sighing, I ran up and slid on my knees in front of the dragon. I grabbed one of the ropes, paused, and began cutting it with my dagger.

_Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch- SNAP!_

_I hope I know what I'm doing,_ I thought to myself.

_Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch- SNAP!_

A few of the ropes started to fall off onto the ground, and the dragons legs began to shift. Just one more…

_Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch- SNAP!_

There was a loud growl as I felt my whole body be pushed up hard against the rock. I started gasping, looking up the see the Night Fury towering over me. It's electric eyes seemed to be looking right through me, giving me the same wolf-like stare it had just given me. Except, that it's pupils were no longer slits, but now more like small ovals. I stared back at the dragon, surprised that I wasn't already dead. Then the dragon started to growl as it reared its head back, and I closed my eyes, ready for the blast. But instead all I got was loud, ear-piercing roar that nearly made me deaf.

There was a rush of wind and a large weight was lifted off my body. I opened my eyes to see the dragon had gone. I gasped and panted, trying to regain myself. I grabbed my dagger and pushed myself to my feet. I could just make out the Night Fury, seeing it crash into trees and bushes in an attempt to fly away. Unable to breath, overwhelmed to still be alive, I did something I don't have any recollection of ever doing before.

I fainted.

* * *

I didn't wake up from consciousness until it was sunset that day. It had taken me a few minutes to remember what happened and even longer to determine whether it wasn't just a crazy dream. But upon seeing the evidence, it was proved to be the facts. I had found the Night Fury, and I let him go. It had taken me until nighttime to get back to the village, mostly because I was going slow on purpose because I secretly didn't want to get home immediately. To be honest, home was the last place I wanted to be. I didn't know where I wanted to be anymore.

I rubbed my head as I walked up the stairs to my front door. I pushed the door opened and walked inside and shut it before noticing that my dad was there, sitting in front of the fire. I froze. What would he say about me being out all day? Not wanting to get in another argument, I tiptoed over to the stairs and started to crawl up on my hands and knees. Just a little more…

"Hicca."

Damn, foiled again.

"Dad," I swallowed hard. "I, uh… Uhh, I have to talk to you, dad."

"I need to speak with you to, dear."

I took a deep breath, my hands forming fists. It's now or never.

"I've decided I don't wanna fight dragons."

Unfortunately, my dad spoke the same time as me. I didn't understand any of it, but he definitely said something about dragons, too.

"What?" we said in unison.

"Um, you go first," he offered.

"No no, you go first," I insisted, stepping down off the stairs.

"Alright… You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the mornin'."

What?! No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!

"Ooh man, I should've gone fist!" I panicked. "'Cause I was just thinking, after all, we already have more than enough dragon-fighting-Vikings, right? But do we have enough- I don't know…bread-making-Vikings? Or- or small home-repair-Vikings…"

"You'll need this."

My dad dropped a large axe into my arms. The weight of it made me loose my balance and I fell against the wall.

"I-I don't wanna fight dragons…" I stammered lowly.

"Ha! C'mon, yes you do!" my dad laughed.

"Okay, rephrase: Dad, I _can't _kill dragons!"

"But you _will_ kill dragons."

"No, I'm very extra sure that I won't."

"It's time, dear."

"Can you not hear me?!"

"This is serious, Hicca!" my dad said loudly. "When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more of…_this_."

"You just gestured to all of me," I said bluntly, frowning up at him.

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling pretty one-sided."

"Deal?!"

I sighed, my arms hanging by my sides due to the weight of the axe. I didn't have a choice. Then again, I never did when it came to me and my dad.

"Deal…"

My dad nodded, looking satisfied. Then he turned and picked up a large sack and his helmet.

"Good," he looked around, putting his helmet on. "Train hard. I'll be back. Probably…"

"And I'll be here. Maybe…" and as I watched him leave, I added, "Be careful!"

He gave a small 'hm,' and left without another word. I sighed in distress. What was I suppose to do now?

_I don't know who I am anymore…_

* * *

Toothless's P.O.V

I really thought it was the end of me when I saw the human was about to kill me. She could've ended me. Any Viking would've taken the chance at being the first to kill a Night Fury. But instead… she spared my life. She set me free. I could've just as easily killed her once I was free, but after looking into her eyes, I had seen the same exact fear that I had felt when I was in harms way. It was like I was looking at my own reflection. I couldn't kill her for that, so I simply repaid her by letting her live, as well.

_But why? Why did she let me go?_

This thought was one that I had been pondering on ever since I crashed into the cove I was currently in. After I was freed I had attempted to fly back to the island and to the nest. Unfortunately, I was unable to fly. Turns out the pain I felt after the human's weapon hit me was my left tailfin being ripped off. Without it I couldn't fly, ever.

Other than thinking about how I was going to survive without flight, I couldn't get that human girl out of my mind. She was different from other Vikings, that much was clear. None of them would've let me go for any reason. But, unless by some miracle I ever see her again, it doesn't seem like I'll know anything more about her. Nevertheless, I'm still grateful to her for sparing my life.

I still wouldn't mind seeing her again, either.

* * *

**Well, there yah go. I feel that this one was kind of short compared to the other one, but you guys let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Second Meeting

**I'm back again! I was away for Spring Break but now I'm here and I got both Ch. 3 AND 4 right now. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ch. 3  
Second Meeting

I didn't want to do this. I really, really, _really _didn't want to do this. But, as always, I had no choice. I had tried to stay at home for a little while, hoping to just sneak off to the forge to keep myself busy. Unfortunately, dad had talked to Gobber to make sure I actually went to the stupid training. Gobber even came and woke me up early to make sure I got there.

"Do I have to?" I whispered to him, trying to hold back my yawn.

"You father thinks it'll help you if you learn how to fight dragons," Gobber whispered back. "And so do I."

I snorted, and received a smack to the back of the head.

For the rest of the time, we both stood and waited for the others to arrive. First to arrive was Austen, then Fishlegs, then Snotlout, then the twins. Once we were all there, Gobber opened the wide doors of the arena, a wide smile on his face.

"Welcome to dragon training!"

"No turning back," Austen said in a low voice.

I rolled my eyes. I slowly marched into the ring, feeling like I was walking to my own execution. Even though I was in the back, I could hear all the other teens talking excitedly.

"I hope I get some serious burns!" said Tuffnut.

"I'm hoping for some mauling, like…my shoulder or lower back," Ruffnut responded.

Austen nodded. "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

_Why would you _want _that?_

"Yeah, no kidding, right?" I said sarcastically, and they all turned to look at me. "Pain; _love it_."

"Oh great, who let her in?" said Tuffnut.

"Let's get started!" Gobber called out. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon, in front of the entire village!"

"Umm, Hicca already killed a Night Fury," Snotlout smirked. "So, does that like disqualify her or something?"

Him and the Twins all laughed at his tasteless joke as they all continued into the arena. I groaned as I walked too. _Man,__ my life sucks._ A moment later Gobber came and pulled me from the group.

"Don't worry," he whispered to me. "You're small and weak, that'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead."

I rolled my eyes. _Great advise, I feel so much better._ Gobber chuckled as he walked away and I took my spot next to Fishlegs. Out of all the others, Fishlegs was by far the friendliest. He never picked on me or made any fun. He even got picked on sometimes because he knew everything about dragons and loved reading about them so much.

"Hey Hicca," he whispered.

"Hey 'legs."

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight," Gobber said loudly, marching around several cages. "The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed 8, armor 16," said Fishlegs.

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"11 stealth, times 2."

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Fire power 15."

"The Terrible Terror."

"Attack 8, venom 12-"

"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber rolled his eyes, and then an evil grin spread across his face. "And…the Gronkle."

"Jaw strength 8," Fishlegs whispered to me.

I giggled, and whispered, "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, aren't you gonna teach us first?!" Snotlout asked, sounding a little scared.

"He's a blacksmith," I said smugly. "He believes in learning on the job."

"Unfortunately for all of you, Hicca is, in fact, correct."

And with that Gobber opened the large cage, and the Gronkle burst through the doors. We all scattered, trying to stay away. Gobber yelled to us over the ruckus.

"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick! What's the first thing you're going tah need?"

"A doctor?" I guessed.

"Plus 5 speed?" asked Fishlegs.

"A shield," answered Austen.

"Shield. Go!"

At once we all headed for the pile of shields sitting in the corner. I grabbed one and tried to pick it up, but the ax in my hand made it difficult. Gobber came over, helped put the shield in my hands and shoved me into the middle of the ring.

"You're most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you have to make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."

This was too crazy. What am I even suppose to do? I turned around to see what else was going on, and to my surprise, I saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut start fighting over a shield that had skulls and flames on it. _Really? I mean, really?!_

"Get your hands off my shield!"

"There's like a million shields!"

"Take that one, it's got a flower on it. Girls like flowers."

I snorted. A second later Ruffnut snatched the shield away and smacked Tuffnut's head with it. I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Oops. Now this one has blood on it."

The two continued to go back and forth, both continuously fighting over the shield. Neither of them noticed that the Gronkle was heading right for them. A second later the dragon shot a large blast of fire, destroying the shield and nearly knocking the twins out cold.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you're out," Gobber looked at us. "Those shields are good for another thing; noise. Make lots of it, throw a dragon off its aim."

At his words we all began circling around the Gronkle, banging our weapons against our shields. At the noise the dragon went cross-eyed and started swaying everywhere. _Well, at least I can do one thing._

"All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronkle have?" Gobber asked us.

"Five?" guessed Snotlout?

"No, six!" said Fishlegs.

"Correct, six. That's one for each of you."

Fishlegs started to speak, but was cut off as the dragon shot some more fire at his own shield. He freaked out and ran away, screaming like a little girl.

"Fishlegs, out."

Okay, now this was getting way too crazy. I've known Gobber for years and I knew that he strictly believed in the whole 'learning on the job' thing, but I didn't expect any of this! I ran off and stood behind a large piece of wood, not wanting to get hit. I waited for a moment before Gobber spotted me and snapped at me.

"Hicca! Get in there!"

"Alright, I'm going!"

I started to make my way out, then jumped away as the Gronkle fired again at me. _Nope! I'm staying right here! _I peaked over the wood and from the other side of the ring I could see Snotlout talking to Austen.

"So, anyway, I'm moving into my parents basement," he said. "You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out."

Then Snotlout's shield got blasted while Austen skillfully somersaulted out of the way.

"Snotlout, you're done."

I looked to see that Austen was now only a few feet away from me. I took a few steps towards him, not sure what to do.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?" I asked casually.

"Nope. Just you."

Austen ran away and I stared after him. Then I felt my shield leave my hand as it was blasted away by the Gronkle.

"One shot left."

I started running after my shield, reaching my hands out to grab it. I barley even noticed the Gronkle was closing in on me.

"Hicca!"

I turned my head to see the dragon was already on me. As I turned my feet slipped and fell on the ground as my head hit painfully against the wall. I gasped, staring down as the Gronkle sniffed at me. Then I growled as it opened its jaws, ready to fire. Then Gobber's hand came up and yanked it away by its jaw, causing its fireball to hit the wall instead of my head.

"And that's six," Gobber grunted, dragging the dragon back to its cage. "Go back tah bed yah over grown sausage! You'll get your chance, don't you worry!"

I panted a little, still shocked at what happened. Gobber quickly came back over and helped me to my feet.

"You alright, lass?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I said, rubbing my arm. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Gobber nodded, patting my back in a comforting way. Then he turned and looked at all of us.

"That's all for today," he called out. "We'll meet in the Great Hall for dinner, and afterward we'll talk about how you need to improve after today's lesson. Remember, a dragon will always," he looked at me. "_Always_…go for the kill…"

* * *

"So why didn't you…?"

I stared down at the broken bola in my hands. I couldn't stop thinking about the Night Fury. It had me pinned, it could've killed me, but it didn't. It let me go…

After staring at the ropes for another moment I set them down and continued on through the forest. I wasn't paying too much attention and soon found my self entering some sort of cave with light at the other end. I jumped down and started to walk in. Once on the other side I discovered a beautiful cove with a large crystal-clear lake in the middle. Despite the beauty and the peaceful serene, this didn't help me in my search for the Night Fury.

"Well, this was stupid…"

Just as I was about to leave I looked down and saw several black scales scattered on the cave floor. I blinked, then knelt down and picked one of them up, examining it closely. Flawless, and smooth as pearls. I could see my own face reflected against the black surface.

Then out of nowhere something big rushed up on the outside of the cave. I gasped, dropping the scale as I sat back. Taking staggered breaths I slowly crawled forward and peeked out of the entrance. I couldn't believe it; it was the Night Fury! I could see it trying to crawl up the wall and then roughly sliding and falling on the ground. It roared then glided to the other side of the cove. I felt myself start to grin as I gazed at the dragon. Slowly, I started to step out into the open, stopping short of the edge. I watched closely as the dragon continued to try and fail to fly and climb the stone wall. Suddenly my drawing instincts kicked in and I quickly pulled out my sketchbook and charcoal pencil. Taking advantage of every time it stayed still, I carefully drew the dragon into my book, making sure to copy every detail correctly. Within seconds it was finished. Nodding at my current work, I looked back to see the Fury sitting on the ground, looking around, almost hopelessly.

"Why don't you just…fly away?"

It was then that I noticed one of the dragons' tailfins was missing. I rubbed my thumb against the picture, leaving a dark smug where the tailfin used to be. I stared at the image, and a small thought came to me.

_Maybe this is why. The bola took its fin off, so now it can't fly. This dragon's stuck on the ground because of me…_

A wave of shame seemed to pass over me as I hung my head and my shoulders slumped. I didn't pay enough attention to see that my pencil was slipping out of my hand. By the time I noticed it was already on the edge of the cliff.

"No, no, no-!"

Too late. It fell and hit the ground with a loud _clatter_. Apparently, it was enough to get the Fury's attention. Its ears perked up a little at the noise, and before I could move it raised its head and spotted me. Its pupils widened slightly and, to my surprise, I heard it start to purr lowly. Perhaps it recognized me? I sat up on my knees, still staring back. I tilted my head to the side, the dragon did the same. I blinked. Then(I don't know what made me do it), I lifted my hand and gave a small wave. The Fury's ears completely perked up, and its purring grew slightly louder. I couldn't help but grin slightly.

As I lowered my hand I leaned over and looked down at the ground. I could see my pencil sitting where it fell. From here I could easily jump down, grab it and get back up in a second. But the dragon wasn't very far away. What if it attacked me? I'd never be able to get away. I kept my eye on my pencil, thinking I should probably just leave it there. Then I heard what sounded like shuffled footsteps coming from close by. I looked up a bit and was shocked to see the Fury was walking towards me. I sat back quickly, and the dragon stopped for a second, too. It looked at me before bowing its head, and I saw it sniff my pencil for a moment. A second later it lifted its head and I saw my pencil in its mouth.

I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. What was this dragon doing? It continued to come closer, crawling up a little on the tall rocks below. Then it reared its head back and tossed the pencil up, which flew up for a second before landing on the ground and rolling over to my feet. I slowly picked it up, stared at it, then looked back at the Fury. It was giving me a curious look, as though waiting for something. I stood up on my feet, the dragons' eyes following me. I gave a small nod, as to say 'thank you,' and the dragon blinked, a satisfied look on its face. Then I slowly started to back up, not taking my eyes off the Fury. Once I was out of the cave, I turned and started to walk home.

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**Ch. 3 ladies and gents! Now, move on to ch. 4, cause i know you want to! :D**


	4. Pick A Side

**Like I said, I knew you wanted this, so go ahead and read.**

* * *

Ch. 4  
Pick A Side

"Alright, where did Austen go wrong in the ring today?"

"I mistimed my summersault dive," answered Austen. "It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble."

_How is that even suppose to make sense? _I thought tiredly. I had just come in the Great Hall, and, of course, I was late for the little 'talk' we were suppose to have with Gobber. But, seeing as how I was soaked in rain water and kind of hungry, being late was the least of my worries.

"No no, you were great," said Snotlout. "That was so 'Austen'."

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a plate of food. My cousin was such a kiss-ass, especially to Austen. In fact, the only thing that kept me from saying that Snotlout was secretly gay for Austen was all his vulgar language whenever he talked about women. I knew this because I was unfortunate enough to overhear him talking to Tuffnut once. _Eck!_

"He's right, you need to be tough on yourselves," said Gobber, then he gestured to me. "Where did Hicca go wrong?"

_Hey! Leave me out! I've done nothing wrong!_

"Uh, she showed up," said Ruffnut.

"She didn't get eaten!" jeered Tuffnut.

"She's never where she should be," Austen said in a low voice.

"Thank you, Austen," said Gobber.

_And thank _you _for the help, Gobber,_ I thought bitterly as I sat down on another table. Suddenly, I didn't feel so hungry anymore.

"Yah need tah live and breath this stuff," Gobber dropped a large book on the table. "The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about every dragon we know of."

Thunder sounded loudly from outside. Gobber looked up at the roof grimly before starting to march away.

"No attacks tonight. Study up."

"Wait! You mean read?" Tuffnut asked.

"While we're still alive?!" exclaimed Ruffnut.

It was then that I decided to zone out from the stupidity of the twins. Really, how can two people be so stupid. I took a small nibble from my food even though I wasn't hungry still. Maybe I should've just gone home. Or…maybe I should've stayed in the cove… Now that I think about it, I actually _want_ to go back there.

"You guys read, I'll go kill something."

I lifted my head to see that Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had all gotten up and headed out of the Hall. I was surprised, however, to see that Austen was still sitting down. The Dragon Manual was an inch from his hand, and he was looking at it cautiously, as though he was tempted to actually read it. It was surprising because I had never actually seen him read(in fact, there were times where I wondered if he could read). I stood up and made my way towards him, and his eyes snapped up to me.

"So, do you wanna share-"

"Read it," he snapped, pushing the book away and getting up.

"Or, I'll just take it. Well, I'll see you-"

But then he slammed the door shut. I felt my shoulders slump sadly.

"…tomorrow."

I sighed. Why did I care? It's not like I still like him anymore. I walked over to another table and grabbed a small candle, lit it, and brought it to the table, setting it down next to me. I sat down as opened the book and began to read.

"Dragon classifications; strike class, fear class, mystery class," I turned the page. "Thunderdrum; this recusant dragon inhabits small sea-caves and dark tide pools. When startled, the Thunderdrum produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous; kill on sight," I flipped through more pages. "Timberjack. This gigantic creature has razor-sharp wings that can slice through full grown trees. Extremely dangerous; kill on sight," more pages. "Scaldran. Sprays scalding water at its victim. Extremely dangerous…"

Suddenly thunder sounded loudly outside. I gasped, whipping my head around to see a flash of light from the lightning. I calmed down quickly and turned back to the book.

"Changwing. Even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight. Gronkle… Zippleback… The Skrill… Bonenapper… Whispering Death…" I blinked, staring for a moment before flipping through numerous pages. "Burns its victims, buries its victims, chokes its victims, turns its victims inside out… Extremely dangerous, extremely dangerous; kill on sight, kill on sight, kill on sight…"

I continued flipping and flipping, hundreds of pictures flying passed my eyes. All of them pretty much said the same thing. Extremely dangerous; kill on sight. That's all they said. Every last…

Then I got to the page I had really been looking for. The one that was nearly completely blank.

"Night Fury…" I breathed. "Speed unknown, size unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance; hide and pray it does not find you."

I stared down into the book. Then I took out my sketchbook, opened it, and dropped it inside the dragon book. Picture of the Night Fury sat there, illuminated by the candlelight.

* * *

"So, I just happen to notice that book had absolutely nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book? A sequel? Little Night Fury pamphlet maybe- AHH!"

I yelled as a blast of fire hit the ax I had been holding, leaving nothing but the handle. I looked up and saw the blast had come from the Deadly Nadder we were training with today.

"Focus Hicca! You're not even tryin'!" Gobber yelled.

"Yes I am!" I yelled back. He ignored me.

"Today is about _attack_! Nadders are quick and light on their feet. You're job is to be quicker and lighter."

I had somehow managed to loose the Nadder in the large maze Gobber had made up for us. I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Then from somewhere, I heard Fishlegs screaming.

"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" he yelled.

"Look for its blind spot," said Gobber. "Every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike."

"Ugh, do you ever bathe?"

I turned my head around the corner to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut standing in front of the Nadder. They both seemed to be trying to stay in its blind spot.

"If you don't like it, how about you get your own blind spot?"

"How about I give you one!"

I rolled my eyes and turned away. I didn't need to watch to know what will happen. Sure enough, after a few moments there was a yell and the sound of a small blast.

"Blind spot? Yes. Deaf spot? Not so much."

Gobber chuckled. I took the opportunity to move while the dragon was distracted. I ran off and went back in front of Gobber.

"So, uhh, how would one sneak up on a Night Fury-"

"No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. _Now get in there_!" he snapped at me.

"I know. But, just hypothetically…"

"Hicca!"

I turned my head to see Austen and Snotlout both knealing down, obviously hiding. The dragon must be near. Austen mouthed the words 'get down,' gesturing me to come over. I quickly crouched behind them both, waiting for something. Then Austen took a deep breath and somersaulted to the other side. Snotlout followed soon after. I had attempted to copy them, but I didn't make it all the way. The dragon snapped its head at me and made like it was going to bite me. I quickly got to my feet and started running. Making sure I was safe(for the most part), I ran back to Gobber. He saw me and shook his head. I ignored him.

"They- they might take the daytime off," I panted, sounding a little hopeful. "Like when a cat naps. Has anyone ever seen one napping?"

"Hicca!"

I turned around to what Gobber was pointing at, and gasped. The whole maze was falling down like a row of dominoes. But that wasn't all. From the tops I could see Austen leaping over all of them, attempting to get away from the dragon. When he got to the last one, however, he had nowhere to leap, and ended up heading right for me.

"HICCA!"

I yelped, tripping as I tried to back away. Austen came down on me, nearly crushing me. When the dust cleared I could see him looking around, trying to get up.

"_Ooh_, love on the battlefield," I heard Tuffnut call out from somewhere.

"He can do better," I heard Ruffnut add.

Ignoring the twins, I tried to help Austen get off of me. Then we saw that his ax had embedded itself into my shield. He started moving frantically, trying to get his ax out and stand up at the same time. He was completely flipping out! One of his hands nearly went down on my chest in an effort to pick himself up(like hell I was gonna let _that_ happen), but I grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Damn it, will you calm down!" I shouted at him.

Austen gave me a look that was somewhere between surprised and angry as he yanked his hand away from mine, pushing himself up in the process. He looked up and gasped as he saw the Nadder coming. He grabbed his ax, still attached to my shield, and tried to get it off. He then stepped on my shoulder to yank it off my arm, which, of course, hurt. I yelped painfully, but I don't think anyone could hear me. Once my shield was off my arm Austen wield around and hit the dragons' face with such force that it whimpered and stalked away.

"Well done, Austen," called Gobber.

Austen stood there, breathing heavily. Then turned towards me, a strong glare drawn across his face.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?!" he snapped at me. "Our parents war is about to become ours. Figure out which side your on!"

Though I heard him clearly, I didn't pay him any attention. I was too busy holding my now sore shoulder. It didn't feel like anything was broken, but it definitely hurt. I glanced up at Austen, and was surprised to see his expression had changed from angry, to slightly worried.

"…You hurt?" he asked in a low voice.

I stared at him. Was he…concerned?

"Little bit," I said simply, shrugging. "No big deal."

Austen nodded, looking uncomfortable, then turned and walked away. I slowly got to my feet, still holding my shoulder.

"Hey, Gobber?" I called, turning to look up at him.

"Ugh, what now?"

"Can I borrow one of these shields?"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," I muttered to myself.

I looked over the edge of my shield to look all over the cove. The coast seemed clear; no Night Fury in sight. I raised the hand that was holding a large cod and tossed it out into the open. Still, nothing came out. I started to walk forward but was stopped when my shield got lodged between two rocks. I tried to yank it back but it wouldn't budge. I managed to crawl under the shield to the other side. I grabbed the shield with both hands and pulled. No movement. Not even an inch. I sighed. _Probably wouldn't have survived one fireball, anyway._

I walked forward and picked the cod back up. Looking around, I slowly made my way around the cove. I wasn't sure what to expect. Was the Fury simply hiding? Or was it waiting for the right time to strike? I continued to call the dragon an 'it' not because I thought of it as an object, but simply because I don't know its gender. I mean, it's not exactly easy to figure out, is it? Come to think of it, how _do you _tell the difference between a boy dragon and a girl dragon?

Before I could answer this question I heard something shift behind me. I froze, then slowly turned around and gasped. The Night Fury was right there, crawling down off a pile of boulders. It sniffed in my direction, then growled lowly. It didn't sound threatening though, so I took that as a good sight. Swallowing, I raised my free hand and waved like I did yesterday.

"H-hi."

The Fury blinked, its ears going up. It stared at me for a moment before lowering its gaze to my hands, its expression then looking expectant. I was confused for a moment before I remembered I was still holding the fish.

"Oh, r-right," I stammered, raising the fish out to the hungry dragon.

The Fury sniffed some more, slowly making its way towards me. It opened its mouth, letting out a soft noise. Suddenly its eyes snapped down and it jumped back, hissing at me. I took a step back, my hand going to my waist. It was then that I felt the hilt of my dagger. _Ooh, I get it…_ I pulled my vest back, exposing the tiny weapon. The dragon growled lowly, and when I went to grab the dagger it hissed again.

"I'm dropping it!" I said quickly.

I grabbed the dagger by the hilt and lifted it from my waist band. Then I held it out and dropped it. The Fury shook its head, snapping it to the side. It was like it was saying 'get rid of it.' So, I slipped my foot under the dagger, lifted it up and tossed it into the water. The Fury looked at the water, then at me, and suddenly sat up strait, completely relaxed. _That was fast._ Then I held the fish out again.

"Y-you still want it?" I asked.

The dragon blinked at me, then at the fish. Slowly, it started crawling towards me again. When it was only a foot away it lifted its head and opened its large jaws. Feeling a little curious, I peered inside to look and saw… gums! Soft, squishy, completely harmless gums!

"Wow, toothless," I muttered, amazed. "Funny. I thought you had-"

With a loud squishy sound, rows of sharp teeth shot out of the gums and the Fury reached forward and snatched the fish out of my hand. I gasped, my hands coming up to my chest, and I watched as the dragon munched on the fish. Swallowing it, the dragon licked its scaly lips, looking satisfied.

"…teeth."

The dragon's eyes snapped towards me. Then it bent down and started crawling forward, letting out a low deep noise that sounded like something between a growl and a purr.

"Uh, no. No no…!"

I started backing up, but I tripped and fell on my butt. I moved back as far as I could before my back hit against a rock. The dragon continued to come forward, its face coming dangerously close to mine. The look on its face, it was like it was examining me.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "I don't have a-anymore."

I flinched as the dragon brought its face very close to my own. It continued to stare at me for a second. Then its expression changed to one of concentration. I could see its stomach looking like it was heaving and it started making a hacking sound. Before I could do anything the dragon opened its mouth and spat out the tail of the fish it had just eaten. Right into my lap.

"Eww…" I moaned, feeling a little queasy.

The dragon finally backed away and sat straight in front of me. Hesitantly, I grabbed the slimy fish in my hands me and the Fury's eyes met. It looked like it was waiting for something, but I didn't know what. Then it nodded down at the fish in my hands. I looked at it, then at the dragon, and sighed. I knew what it wanted me to do. Knowing I was going to regret doing so, I slowly raised the fish to my mouth and took a small but convincing bite. The taste alone was enough to make me puke. But forced a smile, nodding as I raised the fish. The dragon then mimicked swallowing. _Are you kidding me!?_ I stared at the dragon for a moment. Then, giving an irritated grunt, I swallowed. The first time I gagged and nearly puked, and I had to cover my mouth to keep me from doing so. Then I took a deep breath and forced it down my throat. I didn't gag again, but the taste and the feeling of fish scales against my throat made me shudder. When it was finally over I looked up at the Fury. It licked its lips, as though asking hot the fish was. Not knowing what to do, I just smiled, probably very awkwardly. The fury started at me, looking a little confused. Then, slowly and just as awkwardly, its lips parted and the corners of its mouth pulled back, exposing its gummy jaws. I stared, hardly able to believe it.

"Are you…trying to smile?" I asked it.

The dragon nodded, still showing its gummy smile.

"Wow…"

I placed the rest of the fish to the side, wiping my hands on my pants. I slowly propped myself up so I was now on my knees, hesitated, then gently lifted my hand and moved it towards the Fury. At once its mood changed; the dragons smile fell and all its teeth popped out. It growled at me before raising its wings and gliding over to the other side of the cove. I stood up, staring in confusion. _You know what? No._ Not feeling very scared anymore, I started marching around the lake to where the dragon was now sitting down. It wasn't even paying attention to me, but was looking up at a bird in a nest. Grinning, I sat down and crossed my legs, waiting for the dragon to notice me. A moment later it whipped its head around to look at me. I waved.

"Don't mind me," I said sweetly.

The Fury groaned and shifted itself so it was covering itself with its wings. _First it feeds me, now its allowing my presence. Okay, we're off to a good start._ Then I lifted myself off the ground an shifted closer to the dragon. I leaned forward and reached my hand out to touch its wing. Then the wing shot up and the dragon made a snapping noise at me. I pushed myself to my feet quickly and awkwardly backed away. The dragon groaned again and went off to find a new place to sleep.

_This might take a while._

* * *

The Night Fury's nap was taking longer than I thought. It continuously hung upside-down by its tail on a tree branch, which made it look more bat-like than before. I watched it hang there, covered by its wings. I sighed. Feeling board, I picked up a branch and started doodling in the dirt. After making a few squiggly lines, I ended up drawing the Fury's face. I outlined the face and the neck, grinning as it slowly started to come together. I was just starting on the eyes when I felt a slight breeze behind me and a shadow caught my eye. I knew it was the dragon. Not wanting to startle it, I continued to draw in the dirt. I added the ears and detailed the eyes, and the dragon made a pleased cooing sound. Then I heard its feet shuffle away. I turned to see the dragon had picked up a large branch that was bigger than me. Then it started moving all around, dragging the end of the branch around. It didn't seem to be making a certain shape or form, but it continued to go everywhere with the branch. Once when the dragon went behind me the leafy part hit my head, and I winced. The Fury looked at me, as though looking to see if I was okay, then went back to work. After a few seconds of moving the dragon finally set down the branch, and nodded, obviously pleased with its work. I stood up, examining the maze-like picture in front of me. I walked forward, accidentally stepping on a line, and the dragon growled. I flinched, then raised my foot. The dragon purred.

"Hmm…"

I repeatedly continued this, making the dragon growl and then purr again. After a couple times I finally stepped over the line, and the Night Fury purred even louder, looking very happy. I smiled sweetly. I continued to step over the line, holding my arms out to keep my balance. I turned left, right, forward and backward. It really was like a never ending maze. Then I turned and took one last step backwards, and I felt it. A warm, strong breeze(almost like breath) blowing on my back, ruffling my hair. I slowly turned around. The Night Fury was sitting there, towering over me while looking into my eyes. It was then that I noticed how deeply powering its electric eyes were. I stood still before raising my hand. The dragon growled lowly, but not as angry as before. I pulled my hand back, and the dragon stopped. I gave the situation some thought. This dragon had to see that I trusted it- _completely_. Then it would trust me. I sighed, then I closed my eyes, turned my head and held my arm out. I didn't hear any growls, so I took that as a good sign. I knew this dragon could kill me or, at the very least, bit my arm off. But I needed its trust. I needed-

At that point I felt something smooth and scaly press against my hand. Restraining the urge to gasp, I opened my eyes and turned my head back. The great Night Fury had its eyes closed and its snout nuzzled into the center of my palm.

"Wow…"

The Fury took its head away as it opened its eyes. There was a pause. Then a calm, deep male voice sounded as though it were an echo, and I realized it was inside my head.

'I have decided to trust you, human.'

I gasped.

* * *

**And that's 4! I personally feel I wrote this one nearly perfectly, but you tell me otherwise if needed. I'll be working on the next one real soon, and i'll get back to yah as soon as i can.**


	5. Toothless

**DAMN! I'm on a roll with this one! Seriously, this is nearly the only story i can think about! I guess it's mostly because I'm excited for the HTTYD 2. Still 2 more months left... DAMN YOU FATHER TIME! MOVE IT ALONG ALREADY!**

**...**

**Ahem, anyways... Go ahead and read on, dearies.**

* * *

Ch. 5  
Toothless

_This can't be happening. This _cannot_ be happening!_ I thought fearfully, pacing around my room. _The dragon…it _spoke_ to me! How is that possible?! Am I going mad? Am I crazy?! Am I-_

But my thoughts were interrupted when a sudden knocking sounded from the front door. I gasped, flinching slightly. Then, slowly and cautiously, I started to make my way down the stairs. I stared at the door for a moment before the person outside knocked again.

"Hicca."

_Austen?!_

I ran up to the door and quickly opened it. Sure enough, I saw Austen standing there, his fist raised as though he were about to knock again. He blinked when he saw me and lowered his hand.

"Hey," he said shortly.

"Hey," I looked at him, confused. "Um, can I help you?"

"Well, Gobber told us that we don't have training today or tomorrow, but we're gonna eat together tomorrow night. He told me to tell you."

"Oh."

I stood there for a moment, shifting my feet on the floor. Austen looked around awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, thanks," I said. "Um… Okay, if that's all…"

"Wait!"

I was about to close the door when Austen took a step forward, pressing his hand against the door to keep it open.

"Hicca, I'm sorry about what happen yesterday," he said really quickly. "I didn't mean to hurt your shoulder. It's just… the Nadder was coming at me, I panicked and-"

"Dude, it's okay," I said quickly, then I rolled my shoulders back to show they were fine. "See? Nothing broken. Everything's fine. I… I forgive you, okay?"

Austen blinked at me. Clearly he had not expected me to forgive him so quickly, and he looked kind of relieved that I did.

"Oh… Well, that's great. I'll… I'll see you in training then."

"Yeah…see yah."

With that, Austen turned and walked away. I stared after him before slowly closing the door. I leaned my back against it and sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. _Two days with no training, huh?_ I opened my eyes and looked over to my right. I saw the very large basket of fish Gobber had caught with me the other day. There was at least a week's worth of fish in there, enough for dinner every night. I stood straight and rubbed my chin. Then I grabbed a small back as I walked over to the basket. I opened the basket and pulled out four fish, placing them all in the small bag.

If I was going back, I might as well bring him a snack.

* * *

I stood still, staring around the large cove. When I first entered I didn't immediately see the dragon. So I started walking around to look for him. After hearing what I hoped was the dragons' voice I had come to realize it was male, and I was gonna call him that until I knew otherwise.

I looked around a little more for about a minute until finally, I saw him. The Night Fury was sitting under a tree, apparently sleeping. I stopped, staring at him, clutching the small bag of fish tightly in my hands. I took a deep breath and slowly started walking towards the dragon. He didn't move at first. But when I was only five feet away, his body shifted and his head lifted up as he yawned. He stretched out his arms and spread his wings before settling down where he sat. A moment later he caught sight of me and turned his head to look at me. I froze where I stood, staring at the dragon, waiting for something to happen. Then, I probably just imagined it, I saw a small smile appear on the dragon's scaly face.

'Hello there.'

I gasped quietly. I had just heard a dragon talk in my head for the second time in my life. I clutched the bag close to my chest, and spoke softly.

"Hi…"

There was a pause. Me and the dragon just stared at each other, not saying anything.

'You may sit down, if you like,' he told me.

I blinked, surprised. Then I nodded, and slowly walked a few feet forward. I sat down in front of the Fury.

'So, you've come back.'

I swallowed, and just nodded again. The dragon did as well.

'Well, I had a feeling you would.'

I wasn't sure what to do at this point. The dragon started to sniff the air, then his eyes snapped to the bag in my hands and his ears perked.

'You brought more fish?' he asked, almost excitedly.

"Y-yeah," I quickly opened the bag. "I thought you'd want some."

'That's very kind of you.'

I paused, then reached in and brought out a fish. The dragon leaned his head forward and opened his jaws. I giggled a little at the sight of his toothless gums before tossing the fish in. He swallowed it and licked his lips.

'Mmm… thank you.'

"Your welcome," I said.

There was a pause. The dragon was looking at me expectantly, but all I did was look at the ground while I played with my braid. That was a habit I had gotten into over the years; whenever I felt awkward or didn't know what to do I'd just stand there and stroke the simple braid in my hair. But right now was different. I couldn't just sit here playing with my hair all day. There was something I wanted to ask, but I wasn't sure how to ask it.

"Umm…" I gulped.

'Yes?'

I grunted, then looked up at the Fury.

"Am I crazy?"

The dragon blinked. 'Sorry?'

"I mean… this is really happening? I can really hear you? I'm not just going crazy or anything?"

The dragon continued to stare at me before lowering his head and chuckling. I blinked. What was so funny?

'If you were crazy, then how would I be able to respond?' he asked as he lifted his head. 'And how else would I be able to understand you?'

"Uhh…" I shook my head. "I'm just gonna assume that that's a 'no.' So, how can I understand you, then?"

'Oh, dragons have always had the ability to communicate telepathically. It's our way of communicating with each other.'

"Do you talk to other humans often?"

'I've never heard of any other dragon talking to a human. As far as I know, I'm the first.'

I gapped at him. No other human had ever talked to a dragon before? So, I was the first, then. _Wow… cool_! I reached into the bag and pulled out another fish. The dragon smiled as I fed it to him, and he ate it happily. There was another moment of silence.

"So, um… do you have a name?" I asked him.

The dragon nodded. 'Yes, but it's in Dragonese.'

I tilted my head. "Dragonese?"

'It's our native language. As far as being perfect goes, only dragons can speak it fluently and perfectly. The slits in our tongues help us speak it.'

He opened his mouth slightly to exposed his tongue so I could see the small slit down the middle of it. I squinted at it.

"Huh… So, your name?"

'Xiuhcoatl,' he answered. 'In English it means 'fire serpent'.'

"Cool name," I said. "Do you think I can say it?"

'You can try.'

I ended up spending the next five minutes trying and failing to say the dragon's stupid, impossible foreign name! Every time I tried the dragons' laughing got louder and louder until he had to bury his head in his scaly paws.

"Quit laughing at me!" I snapped without thinking.

'I'm sorry,' he looked up at me, and he had an amused expression on his face. 'But I've never heard a human try to speak a single word of Dragonese. It's hilarious!"

I grumbled irritably, folding my arms. The dragon soon stopped laughing. Then, to my surprise he nudged my knee with his nose.

'Can I have another fish, please?' he asked politely.

I looked down at his face, which appeared to be sweet, and I grinned.

"Of course you can."

I tossed another fish at him and he ate it in one bite.

'So,' he said. 'What's your name?'

"Oh, my name's Hicca," I rolled my eyes. "Great name, I know."

'You don't like your name?'

"No, it's not that. It's just- Well, it's kind of a funny name. I'm just glad my parents didn't name me 'Hiccup'. That's what they would have done if I was a boy."

'Well, I like your name,' he said. 'Kind of pretty, actually.'

I blinked. He thought my name was pretty? I had heard people say my name was strange and unique(not the good unique, either), but I have never had anyone call my name pretty.

"Thanks," I said shyly.

'So, Hicca,' the Fury turned his entire body towards me. 'Do you have any other questions?'

"Oh!" I had almost forgotten one of the reasons I came back. "Well, yes, actually."

'Well,' he folded his arms in front of him. 'Go ahead.'

I placed my finger to my chin, thinking of what to ask first. There were so many things that I wanted to ask, things I wanted to know.

"Well, there is one thing that's been bugging me," I said. "How the bloody hell do you tell the difference between males and females?"

The dragon stared at me, then started chuckling again.

'Is it really that difficult to tell?' he asked, amused.

"…Kinda, yeah. It was pretty annoying trying to see if you were a boy or a girl until now."

'Well, dragons can tell the difference based on others' sent. But a clear difference is based on certain physical appearances. Like, female Night Furies have gray claws and male Furies have black claws.'

He lifted one of his paws to reveal all of his solid black claws. I nodded.

"Hmm… Anything else?"

'Well, I don't know about all species, but I do know some. Like, a male Nightmare will have darker scales than a female, and female Terrors' have dark spots on their bellies and male ones don't.'

"Cool."

'Yeah, I suppose.'

I grinned up at him. I then brought my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around them, and lowered my chin into them.

"Tell me more," I said politely.

'Well, what do you want to know?' he asked curiously.

I bit my lip, thinking for a moment. Then I grinned even more.

"Everything."

* * *

'Well, that's as much as I know.'

It had been over an hour since I started questioning the dragon. A few times I felt like I was being too pushy or asking too much, but he assured me that it was no trouble at all, and he actually liked answering my questions. I had already learned so much. More than half of the stuff he said wasn't even in the Dragon Manual, and the rest just seemed to prove all the other 'facts' in the book wrong.

'I hope that was enough for you,' he said.

"Oh, it was plenty!" I said, smiling widely. "Half of that stuff I never even knew, and it's all so interesting!"

'Well, I guess that's what happens when you actually talk to a dragon instead of trying to kill one.'

I fiddled with my hands. "Yeah, I guess so…"

There was silence for a few moments.

'Listen,' the dragon said after a while. 'Now that we can talk to each other, I want to tell you something.'

I leaned in, folding my arms onto my legs.

"Go on."

'I'm…I'm really grateful that you let me go," he said quietly. "It's just…no other Viking would have even considered doing that, let alone do it. I really thought it was the end for me. So, I just wanted to say… thank you."

My eyes felt like they were as wide as dinner plates. Was he really that grateful to me for letting him go? Well, seeing as how I was going to kill him I guess that makes sense. I'd want to thank someone for not killing me, too. Speaking of which…

"Y-you're welcome," I said, and I grinned. "And if it means anything, I'm pretty happy you didn't burn me alive, either."

The Fury bent his head and started laughing, and soon enough, I started laughing with him. It felt good to laugh. I hadn't done so in some time now.

'Well, you're welcome, then,' he said once he had calmed down.

I nodded. Then my eyes glanced up at the sky and I saw that it was nearly sundown. I needed to get back to the village.

"It's getting late," I said. "I need to head back home."

I stood up from my spot and dusted the dirt off my pants. The dragon lifted his head as he sat up.

'Will you be back?' he asked me.

I nodded.

'When?'

"Hmm… tomorrow."

I opened the small bag and reached in to pull out the last fish. I turned and lifted my hand up. The dragon got up and walked towards it, but just as he opened his mouth I pulled my hand back.

"You can have this fish," I started smiling. "If you let me give you a name."

The dragon blinked at me, his head turning to the side.

'A name?'

"A name," I repeated. "I think we can both agree that it's pointless for me to try to say yours, so I need one that I can call you. Think of it as a nickname."

'Hmm, alright,' he said. 'What did you have in mind?'

I rubbed my chin, trying to think of a name. _What should I call him? It has to be good_. At that point the dragon let out a small yawn, and I looked into his mouth. Still toothless…

"Toothless…"

The dragon looked up at me. 'What?'

"Toothless," I repeated, smiling. "That's what I'm gonna call you."

'Toothless?' he stared. 'But, why?'

"Well, yah know," I gestured to his mouth. "With your teeth and all… I think it suits you. What do you think?"

I held my hands at my sides, secretly hoping he would let me call him the name I had chosen. The dragon looked around, as though giving the name some thought. Then he looked up at me, and he was smiling at me.

'Toothless… I like it.'

I smiled. "Good."

I tossed the fish into the air and the dragon- sorry, _Toothless_, caught it in his mouth. He tossed it above him and let it fall down his throat. He swallowed and looked at me.

'Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Hicca."

"Yeah," I said. "See yah…Toothless."

* * *

I stood and watched as Hicca climbed up the rocks and then walk out of the cove entrance. This whole day had gone a lot better than I thought it would. She had been nervous when she first came in, that much I expected, but it didn't take long for her to be more comfortable with talking to me. I mean, all the questions she was asking, it's like she thought I was her personal history book or something. Every time she asked me something her eyes go wide with curiosity, and my answers made her whole face light up. It was pretty cool. It was like all she ever needed to know was right here in my head, and she just had to hear it for herself.

Hicca seemed like such a nice girl. I've never known another human to willingly walk up to a dragon- a Night Fury no less, bring him fish, and just start a conversation like he was her best friend. She had even given me my own nickname. _Toothless… _Truthfully, I felt it was a little strange. But she looked so happy at the thought of calling me that that I couldn't resist letting her. Besides, it's still a good name, and I can learn to live with it.

I looked up at the cave entrance, somehow still seeing her standing there. She is by far the most interesting human I've known. I wonder if she really will come back?

I hope she does.

* * *

**And that's over! I hope you liked it, cause i did. I'll have the next one up probably in a week or less, so don't freak out! Okay? Okay. Bye!**

**PS; the way to pronounce Toothless' name is this.**

**Xiuhcoatl: Shee-oo-ko-ah-tl**

**Got it? Good!**


	6. Trying To Fly

**Did you miss me? Of course you did! I got the next chapter for you all, so I hope you enjoy it well.**

* * *

Ch. 6  
Trying To Fly

"…And with one twist, he took my hand and swallowed it whole! And I saw the look on his face; I was delicious! He must've passed the word because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg!"

"Great story, Gobber," I said, smirking. "Not like I haven't heard it fifty times before already."

Gobber chuckled as he nudged my arm playfully. I smiled at him before looking down at my fish that was currently hovering over the fire.

"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon," said Fishlegs. "Like, if your mind was still in control of it, you could've killed the dragon by crushing its heart or something."

_Okay… creepy…_

"I swear I'm so angry right now!" growled Snotlout. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight- _with my face_!"

I rolled my eyes. _Yeah. Ugly face like that, and your own mother doesn't even love it? You'll scare the poor things to death!_

"Uh-uh. It's the wings and the tails yah really want," Gobber said, and he looked at us all. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. A _downed_ dragon, is a _dead_ dragon."

In that moment all realization seemed to truly wash over me. With a ruined tail, Toothless won't be able to fly ever again. He'll be trapped in that cove forever, with no way to get out. But, no… that can't happen. Toothless is a sweet dragon, he doesn't deserve that. And it's my fault that he's like that to begin with. _I gotta help him…_

"Alright, I'm off to bed. You should be, too," said Gobber. "Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly, but surly, making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who will win the honor of killing it?"

At this point I'd had enough. Making sure that no one was watching me, I set my fish down and quickly got up to leave. I walked backwards a little bit and made my way down the stairs. I thought I saw Austen glance at me for a moment, but it was probably just my imagination.

Soon enough I had arrived at the forge. Even though I knew Gobber wouldn't be in tonight, I locked the door just to be safe. I walked over to my desk and pushed several drawings away. I took out my sketchbook, opened it to the picture of Toothless, and grabbed my pencil. Then I pressed it to the image and added a tailfin where the missing one should be.

I knew what I had to do.

* * *

_Week one. Fin prototype. Test 1._

After writing this down I stuck my book back into my vest and picked said prototype up into my arms. I continued into the cove until I spotted the sleeping form of Toothless, curled up near the small waterfall. I smiled, feeling a little excited. _I hope he likes it!_

"Hey Toothless…" I sang sweetly.

At my voice Toothless opened his eyes. I smiled even more as he slowly lifted his head, yawning loudly as he stretched his limbs out.

'M-morning, Hicca,' he strained, shaking his head a little to force some of his drowsiness away. 'You're a little early today. I didn't think you'd be back until noon.'

"Change of plan," I said, setting the prosthetic on the ground gently. "I got other stuff to do later today, so I decided to come early. I brought you something."

'What?'

"Breakfast!" I said cheerfully, roughly placing the basket on the ground. "I hope you're hungry."

'Starving, actually.'

I nodded as I placed my foot against the basket and gave it a hard shove. The whole thing fell to the ground, spilling the fish into a giant slimy heap.

"Okay, that's disgusting," I said shortly.

'Not to me,' said Toothless, and he sniffed the pile. 'Wow, that's a lot of fish.'

"Yep. Got a whole lot for yah," I said as I picked the new fin back up. "Some salmon, little Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel-"

'WHAT?!'

I jumped and turned to see Toothless growling at the pile of fish, his eyes now glaring slits. I bent over, searched around a bit and picked up the huge eel. At once Toothless reared back and gave a loud, angry hiss.

'BE GONE WITH YOU!' he yelled at the thing.

"No, no, no! It's okay!" I hurriedly tossed the eel away. "What's wrong?"

When the eel was gone Toothless stopped hissing and finally calmed down.

'I forgot to tell you,' he said, sounding a little breathless. 'Dragons are severely allergic to eels. It makes us sick and we end up hallucinating for over week.'

"I'm so sorry!" I said timidly. "I didn't mean to…"

'It's okay, you didn't know. I don't blame you,' he nudged my leg gently. 'Not harm, no foul. Right?'

I smiled, then nodded. After a moment I chuckled a little.

'What?'

"Nothing," I said. "It's just… I don't like eel much either."

Toothless gave a soft chuckle before turning around and diving into the pile of fish. I nodded. _Just what I need…_

"That's it, stick to the good stuff," I mumbled as I slowly circled around him. "Don't you mind me… I'll just be back here… minding my own business…"

Toothless either didn't hear me or didn't care what I was doing, because he continued to devour the fish. I turned and looked down at his tail. I kneeled down and placed the fin next to his tail. I started to gently push them together but his tail moved away. I blinked, then tried again, but the tail moved. _Can't he stay still?_

'I will if you leave my tail alone.'

I froze, not moving an inch as my eyes glanced up at Toothless. _He can read minds now?!_

'Why yes. Yes I can.'

I stared at him. _Things just keep getting weirder and weirder…_ I shook my head, trying to focus. I tried the bring the fin to his tail but this time it started to thrash around a bit.

"No, it's okay," I assured him.

Then I reached up and grabbed his tail. I grunted as I used all the force I had to keep it still. I grabbed the fin and started to put them together, but…

'No more fish?'

Sticking his head in the basket, Toothless took a giant step forward, causing me to fall and slide hard on my stomach.

"Bah! Okay, that's it…!"

Without thinking I swung my leg over so I was now straddling Toothless' tail. It was enough to keep him still so I quickly pulled over the fin and started to put it on. As I pushed the strap through the buckle I felt Toothless start to shift a little.

'What on earth are you doing?' he asked me.

"Just give me a second."

A moment of silence. Then…

'No way…'

But I ignored him. I made sure the strap was on good and tight before sitting back, examining my work. I pulled out the tailfin to see how it looked. Overall, it seemed okay.

"Not too bad," I said, folding my arms. "I suppose it works. Might need a few adjustments, but-"

Suddenly there was a large gust of wind as I was lifted into the air. I screamed and flailed my arms, grabbing onto Toothless' tail. _What the hell is he doing?!_

'I'm flying!'

_Oh… shit…_

"No, no, no-! Toothless, wait-!"

I lifted my head up and opened my eyes to look at his tail, and frowned. The new tailfin was closing and shifting from the powerful wind. Within seconds the air started to ease up, and we slowly down, coming closer and closer towards the ground. _No!_ Keeping a tight grip on Toothless' tail, I reached my hand out, grabbed the fin and yanked it open. At once we were lifted into the air, going higher and higher until we were above the cove.

"Oh my- It's working!"

I lifted the fin up and we did a sharp turn. After looping around we dove back into the cove and glided over the sparkling water. The wind was pushing my bangs into my eyes and my braid was whipping my face, but I didn't care.

"Yes! I did it!"

I probably shouldn't have said that…

'Hicca!' I heard Toothless shout. 'What are you doing up here? You'll hurt yourself!'

With that, he flung me off his tail. I yelled as I skidded across the water before finally sinking in. I pushed myself up and my face broke the surface just as an even louder splash sounded somewhere away from me. Toothless must have fallen as well. Despite me being thrown into a pond, I've never felt more happy. In fact, I was so happy that I smiled widely and threw my hands in the air, yelling in triumph.

"YEAH!"

'Hicca, are you alright?' I heard Toothless call out.

"Fine? I'm great!" I turned and started talking excitingly to myself. "This is amazing, it actually worked! …Kinda. I mean, I need to figure out how to keep it open, but that's all! Just a few more adjustments and it should be perfect. Then he'll finally be able- oof!"

I grunted as I felt something nudge my back and start pushing me through the water. I turned my head and was shocked to see Toothless. He was swimming through he water, continuously pushing me along with him.

'C'mon, you,' he said, smiling slightly. 'Get out before you drown yourself.'

"Hey, I can swim just fine on my own," I retorted, but I didn't resist.

Toothless continued to lead me out of the water until I was finally able to stand on my own. I walked onto the shore, my feet making loud slopping noises due to the excess of water. I sat down in the grass and pulled my booths off, emptying the water out of both of them. Toothless walked up next to me and started shaking his head, flecks of water flying everywhere. I laughed as I covered my face.

'What was that?' he asked once he had stopped.

"That, my friend, was your new tail," I said as I took out my braid and squeezed the water out of it. "I made it for you last night, and I wanted to try it out. Pretty great, huh?"

I pushed my wet bangs away from my eyes and looked up at Toothless. He was staring at me, his large eyes wide.

'You made that for me?' he breathed.

I smiled as I lowered my head. "Yeah," I said, suddenly feeling very shy. "I mean… It's my fault that you can't fly anymore, so I should be the one to help you fly again."

I glanced up at Toothless and saw he hand an amazed look on his face. Then his eyes widened as he turned his head and lifted his tail up. The new fin looked completely busted.

'It's ruined,' Toothless said in despair. 'I broke it, after all the work you did. I'm sorry…'

"Don't be! It was just a prototype," I told him quickly. "I didn't really expect it to work permanently anyway. I promise, once I get it back home I'll handle whatever needs to be fixed and make it perfect. You'll be back in the air in no time. I promise!"

Two seconds of silence along with Toothless sitting there staring at me in amazement followed my statement. A second later he pounced on me and pinned me to the ground, his large paw on my chest. For a split second I thought he was attacking me, but when I looked up, I saw the biggest, gummiest smile on his face.

'Thank you so much, Hicca!'

And with that, he started licking my face. It was basically like getting licked by a giant dog with fish breath. I didn't mind at first so much, but after a while it actually started to tickle. I started laughing and put my hands up to stop him, but of course, nothing worked.

"Ha ha ha! T-Toothless, stop! Ha ha, please- it t-tickles!"

After one last lick to my cheek Toothless finally lifted his face away, but he kept his paw on my chest. I finally calmed down and sat up the best I could and wiped the slobber away from my mouth.

"Dude, you're nasty!" I laughed, looking up at him.

'I can't help it,' Toothless laughed. 'I'm just happy, and it's fun to make you laugh!'

He finally got off me and sat back on his hind legs, still smiling. I sat up and scrapped the rest of the slobber off of me, wiping it on my pants.

"You're welcome, by the way," I added, smiling.

Toothless looked down at the ground, stirring his paw in the dirt, a shy smile on his face. _He's not embarrassed now, is he?_ I leaned forward and reached my hand out to pet him. He looked up at me and brought his face up to meet my hand. I patted him gently before lifting my other hand up and stroking his snout smoothly, and he started to purr.

* * *

_She's amazing, _I thought as I closed my eyes.

It wasn't just my opinion, it was a solid fact. Even though I had only known Hicca for a little over a week I felt like I really knew her. She was kind, thoughtful, and just so generous. She was a better person than any other human I had ever seen. And as she continued to pet around my nose I discovered another thing; she looked and smelled cleaner than any of the other Vikings. Usually those people smelled like mud, sweat and sometimes blood(to my disgust, dragon blood). But Hicca was the complete opposite. There was something strong in her sent, something like hot coals and melted metal. But at the same time there was something soft and sweet that I couldn't explain.; like fresh spring air, and I liked it. And the fact that her hands were so soft and warm only made it better.

I opened my eyes to see Hicca was looking up at the sky, still keeping her hands on my snout. She appeared to be looking for something.

"What time do you suppose it is?" she asked, not looking at me.

I thought for a moment before saying, 'Probably almost noon. Why?'

Suddenly Hicca let out a loud gasp, taking her hands away from me.

"I forgot!"

She started running around and began to gather all of her stuff. She took the fin off of my tail and placed it carefully in the giant fish basket. Then she grabbed the eel and stuffed it in her vest.

'What's wrong?' I asked as she lifted the basket onto her back.

"I need to get home," she said. "I have a, um… Viking class! Yeah, just that!"

But the fact that she had hesitated made me think that she was not being completely honest with me. But whatever it is, I can wait to ask. I'm sure she has her reasons for what she does.

'When will you come back?' I asked her.

"Soon," she answered, walking up to me. "I don't know when, but I'll come back as soon as I can."

She smiled as she petted my nose again. I closed my eyes as I let out a loud purr. Then her hand slide off my face and she started to walk away.

"Bye, Toothless."

'Bye, Hicca."

* * *

**And there's chapter 6. I hope you liked it because i did. I'm having so much fun writing this and I hope you're having fun reading it. I'll have the next one up soon. Bye.**


	7. Test 2

**Chaaaaaaapter 7 is here! It's here and ready to go! I hope you're ready to read it. Now read it!**

**...**

**I'm running out of things to say up here...**

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Ch. 7  
Test 2

"There you are, Hicca."

I came to a sudden stop in front of Gobber, hunched over as I tried to catch my breath. I had just ran all the way from the cove, rushed in my house to hide the tailfin, and basically sprinted all the way to the training ring. Gobber and all the other kids were already there, apparently waiting for me. I didn't care if my hair was a mess(I never got a chance to redo my braid), or that I was still a bit wet, or that the twins and Snotlout were now sniggering. I was glad I got to the class in time so I wouldn't get in trouble.

"I'm- I'm here," I panted, moving my hand over the top of my head.

"No worries, lass. We were just about to start," he told me, and patted my shoulder. "Why are yah all wet?"

"Wet? Oh, I, uhh… I tripped and fell in a puddle. That's all."

"Nice move, Useless," Snotlout said under his breath.

Gobber walked up and smacked the back of his head. I giggled a little as he walked up to me.

"Well, now we can get started. All of you, go pick up a bucket."

I nodded as I went to pick up a bucket. Gobber separated us into partners; Snotlout was with Tuffnut, Ruffnut was with Austen, and I was with Fishlegs. We all filled our buckets with water and waited for Gobber to give us instructions. Then he walked over to one of the cages and unlocked it. It burst open with a loud _bang_,and suddenly the air was filled with strange, dark green smoke, engulfing us all so we couldn't see anything.

"Today is about teamwork," Gobber's voice sounded from outside the smoke. "Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breaths gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."

"Razor-sharp serrated teeth, that inject venom for predigestion," I heard Fishlegs whisper. "Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims'-"

"Will you please stop that?" I hissed.

I sighed as I looked around, trying to see anything pass the thick gas. Then I heard Snotlout's voice.

"There!"

_Splash!_

"Hey! It's us, idiots!" I heard Ruffnut.

"Your butts are getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon."

"Not that there's anything wrong with a dragonesque figure-"

I snorted as I heard the sound of a fist come in contact with a face, and I knew that Austen must have punched him. Then there was a loud growl, several yells, and suddenly Tuffnut came running past us.

"Ooh, I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!"

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now," Fishlegs said fearfully.

I couldn't help but feel he was right. Then there was a low growl and suddenly one of the Zipplebacks' heads came out, and headed straight for Fishlegs. He yelled and immediately tossed his water on the dragons' head. The dragon laughed as smoke seeped out of its mouth.

"Oh, heh, wrong head…"

The dragon sprayed Fishlegs with its gas and he screamed, failing his arms as he ran away.

"Fishlegs!"

I stared after him for a moment before quickly turning around to see the second head had popped up. It's jaws open and sparks started to appear.

"Now Hicca!"

I stepped forward and through the water up as best I could. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough, because it just came down on top of me.

"Aw, come on…"

Both of the dragons' heads roared lowly at me, making jump and fall back. I staggered back, and the dragon pressed forward.

"Hicca!"

I spared a glance in Goober's direction before backing up more. The dragon was a foot away from me when suddenly both pairs of eyes snapped to my vest and they started to rear back. I stared, confused. Then I remembered; I still had the eel in my vest, and it could probably smell it on my hands. I slowly stood up, pushing my hands out. The dragon hissed at them, but continued to back up. Then I got an idea.

"Back... Back, back! Now, don't make me tell you again!"

_I'm really sorry,_ I thought sadly, hoping the dragon could hear me. For a split second I thought it did, because one of the heads stared at me before continuing to back up. Soon enough it started backing up into its cage, and I continued to force it away.

"Yes, that's right, back into your cage! Now think about what you've done."

I opened my vest and pulled out the slimy eel. I tossed it in the cage and the dragon reared back until it was against the wall on the opposite side. _I'll come back for it later, I promise._ At this both of the dragon heads stared at me in some form of amazement.

'You…you know about us…?' I heard a brisk, nasally male voice ask.

I managed a small nod before I stood back and grabbed the doors, pushing them both shut. I wiped my hands on my vest and turned around. Everyone was standing there, staring at me in shocked amazement. Fishlegs actually dropped his bucket and he didn't seemed to notice. I looked back at them feeling slightly awkward.

"Okay! So, are we done?" I asked, already starting to walk away. "'Cause I've got some things I need to, ahh… Yep! See you tomorrow!"

Ignoring all of their stares, I quickly ran out of the ring and back to the forge. I slammed the door shut behind me and let out a long breath. _Man, that was weird!_ I rubbed my face as I sat down at my desk, took out a piece of paper and my pencil, and sat there, thinking. It was pretty obvious that I wouldn't be able to make a new tail that could stay open by itself, at least not for a long while. So, that meant that I needed to help keep it open. In order to do that, I would probably have to ride Toothless, and that meant I had to stay on him. And if I was gonna stay on him, I was gonna need… need… what?

"C'mon, think…" I told myself.

Something to keep me on Toothless. Something to help me stay on so I could help him fly. And then it hit me in an instant, and I started sketching.

* * *

(5 days later)

_Week 2. Tailfin; version 2. Saddle test. Test two._

'A saddle?'

I nodded, holding the saddle I had made in my hands. The idea really had come to me just like that. I couldn't see any other way for me to stay on Toothless, so it was the only option. I had spent two days trying to make it, and the next three days trying to fix the tailfin. So I ended up spending nearly a week away from him. He had been happy to see me at first, but now he just looked confused.

"I figured I'm gonna have to help you keep your tail open," I told him. "And to do that I have to ride you. This thing will help keep me on. What do you think?"

I thought I could see Toothless raise one of his scaly brows.

'You leave me all alone with nothing to do, come back after almost a week and you expect me to let you put a saddle on me?'

"Hmm… Yep!" I smiled cheerfully. "C'mon, let's get this thing on."

I started taking a few steps forward, holding the saddle up at the ready. But then Toothless took a small step backwards, a smirk forming on his face and he crouched down.

'You'll have to catch me first!'

"Wha-?"

Before I could speak he leaped forward and started running around. I blinked.

"Hey!"

I raised the saddle above my head and started sprinting after Toothless. He looked back at me and laughed, not slowing down once. I glared at him as I continued running after him, trying not to run out of breath.

'Ha! I'm too fast for your tiny legs!' Toothless hollered playfully at me.

"Get back here you stupid reptile!" I yelled back, smiling.

Despite wanting to put the stupid saddle on his stupid back I was actually having fun. It was kind of like a strange game of tag. Me and the silly dragon continued running around the entire cove, contently yelling and shouting taunts back and forth at each other(but mine didn't do much since I was always far behind). It wasn't until we had ran around the pond three times did things start to slow down, and then stop when I tripped and fell on my stomach.

'Hicca!' Toothless skidded to a halt, and ran back up to me. 'Are you alright?

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, picking myself up. "Just knocked a little wind out, nothing more."

'Are you sure?'

"Yes, I'm sure. It's not the first time I've fallen. I'm kind of clumsy, believe it or not. So, can we put this thing on now?"

'What-Oh, right! Sure, go ahead.'

Toothless took a few steps back and stood waiting for me. I nodded as I stood up and walked over. I placed the saddle on his back, making sure it was in the right spot. _Let's just hope it fits. _I bent over and started to buckled everything under his belly and then around his neck.

"Not too tight, is it?" I asked as I strapped the one on his neck.

'No, I can breath,' he said. 'Trust me, I will let you know if I'm suffocating.'

I laughed. He laughed too, but he soon stopped, and looked at me seriously.

'Are you sure this is safe?' he asked.

"Of course it's safe. I designed it," I stood confidently. "Don't tell me you scared I'm gonna hurt you or something."

'It's not me I'm worried about.'

It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about. I stared at him. No, I've had people say that if I did anything wrong(or anything in general) I would kill myself or others, but I've never heard anyone flat out say that they were worried about me. My own father had never said anything like that. I know it seems a little silly for me to think like this because Toothless is simply worried about me, but I've never felt like I was worth anybody's concern.

It was only a second later that I realized I had been staring at Toothless the entire time. I felt myself blush and I lowered my head.

"I'll be fine," I said finally. "Honest. I promise nothing will ever happen to me."

There was a moment of silence. I looked up at Toothless, who looked at me and nodded. Then he walked forward and nuzzled his head against me. I smiled as I petted him gently.

'As long as you'll be safe,' he said lowly. 'I don't want you getting hurt.'

"I won't," I assured him. "C'mon, let's… lets try this thing out.

After lowering my hands I went over to his tail and put the newly fixed tailfin on. Once it was on I reached inside my vest and pulled out a long, thick rope. I tied it up to the tail, testing it out by yanking on it, and the fin opened.

"Okay, that seems fine."

Still holding the rope, I walked back up and slowly climbed up on Toothless' back and onto the saddle. I shifted my weight, testing the feeling of it.

"Saddle seems fine," I muttered to myself, making a mental note to write all of this in my book. "I guess all there is now is to test it."

I leaned forward a little bit and held onto the handle on the front of the saddle. I gripped the rope gave small tug.

"Ready, bud?" I asked, patting Toothless' head.

'Ready as I'll ever be,' he answered.

"Alright… let's go!"

Toothless crouched down and raised his wings up slowly. He waited for a few seconds then lifted himself into the air. I yelped at the force and grabbed tightly onto the saddle's handle, trying to keep myself steady.

'You alright?' Toothless asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," I stuttered, and I sat up. "Okay, let's try this…"

I turned around and looked down at his tail, and I saw that the fin was starting to close again. I pulled on the rope and the fin shot open, and it stayed open. I nodded. _Okay, good so far…_

'Is it good?'

"So far, yes," I nodded. "Alright, let's see if we can turn."

Toothless nodded and looked forward, looking ready. I turned around and looked forward too, gave a stern nod, and yanked the rope to the side so we could turn right. Whatever happened to make it do so, the force caused Toothless to turn hard to the left, somehow making him slide out from under me. The rope slipped out of my hand and I fell, screaming before splashing into the water.

"Mmm!"

I quickly moved my arms and legs, pushing myself up and back to the surface. I gasped for air once I was up, and I wiped the water from my eyes.

"Can't we go through one day without me falling into the damn water?" I said angrily.

'I'm guessing that since you're cursing at the sky that you're okay?' I heard Toothless call from shore, a small bit of humor in his voice.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Hold on, I'm coming out."

I turned and started to swim forward. I was halfway out before I noticed something; I couldn't see Toothless on the shore. In fact, I couldn't see him anywhere. I stopped, sat still and floated in the water as I looked around. He wasn't there.

"Toothless?"

But he didn't answer. Then I heard the water shift behind me. I gasped slightly and turned around, and I saw the water was turning slightly. At that point I felt the water shift somewhere under me.

"Oh Thor…"

But I was unable to say more when suddenly some force came up from under me and I was suddenly lifted into the air. I yelped as I floated in the air for a second before landing back on whatever had just repelled me from the water. I panted, and as I lowered my hands they came into contact with something wet and scaly. I looked down and blinked. It was Toothless! He was looking up at me, a pleased smile on his face.

'How's it going?' he asked, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.

I stared at him, hardly able to believe it. Then I smirked, placing my fists on my waist.

"So yah wanna play it this way, huh?" I said slyly. "Well, it's not gonna be that easy, my friend."

Toothless blinked at me, a smirk growing on his face.

'You dare challenge a Night Fury, little girl?' he asked, pretending to sound threatening. 'You think you have what it takes to stand up to _me_?'

"Why, yes, I do," I said confidently, folding my arms.

'Well then, challenge accepted!'

Suddenly Toothless dived back into the water, and I fell down with a loud _splash_! I popped back up and looked around, smiling widely. Then his head popped back up and turned to face me, still smiling. Without thinking I jumped at him, landing on his back. He laughed, trying to buck me off without hurting me. I ended up staying on his back for about five minutes before he managed to flip me off. I stared at him in disbelief. Then I grinned and splashed him as best I could. He covered his eyes and stared at me, and I blew a raspberry in his face. He laughed at me, then raised his wing up.

"No, Tooth-!"

Too late. Toothless pushed his wing through the water and suddenly I was enveloped in a wave of water that pushed me back at least five feet away. I shook my head and spat the water out of my mouth like a fountain. I was too distracted to notice Toothless had swam up to me, an adorable look on his face.

'Truce?' he asked me sweetly.

I looked at him and I couldn't help but smile. I went towards him and slowly leaned my head down on top of his, my hands stroking around his snout.

"Stupid reptile…" I muttered to him.

Toothless chuckled. "Silly human…"

* * *

**Awww, ain't that sweet? Well, there will be more sweetness soon. Next chapter(or 2?) will of course be all of the times were it's going back and forth from Hicca being with Toothless and her being in training, so i'm not sure how i'm gonna do that. But, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Might take a while though. So hang in there baby, I'll be back as soon as i can!**


	8. New Training

**I am back! Wow, it's been a while since I uploaded here, huh? Well, i finally figured out how to do all the training scenes, so i hope you like it!**

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Ch. 8  
New Training

_Week 3. Tailfin; version 2. Saddle with harness test. Test 3_

"Toothless, I'm back!" I called out.

'Coming!'

There was a few seconds of nothing before Toothless hopped down from the rocks and ran over to me. He smiled and nudged me gently.

'Hey.'

"Hi," I smiled. "Are you ready for another test run?"

'Of course I am!' Toothless smiled at me, but then frowned when he looked me up and down. 'Uh, Hicca, what are you wearing?'

I raised my eyebrow and looked down. I was currently wearing the new harness I had recently made. I had made it so it would attach myself to the saddle, therefore, I could stay on to help Toothless fly. I probably looked a little silly without my usual fur vest, but I think looks are the last thing either of us are worried about right now.

"Oh, this? It's a harness," I answered. "See, I need to be able to stay on the saddle to help you fly, and this thing is gonna help with that. Here, look."

I held up the saddle so the loop I had added was visible. I pulled out the hook from the waist of the harness and locked it into the loop. I gave it a few tugs to show that it wasn't coming off.

"What do you think?" I asked.

Toothless nodded. 'Not bad.'

"Thanks. Now, let's try to fly some more."

Toothless smiled up at me. I strapped on the saddle and tied the rope back up to the tailfin. I got on the saddle, but instead of just holding it, I tied the rope to my ankle. Somehow I felt it would make things easier if I did.

"Alright, let's go."

Toothless got us in the air, and we were soon gliding over the cove. We were a bit rocky but we weren't falling yet, so I wasn't very worried. I held on tightly to the saddle, trying not to slide off. But the harness was still tightly hooked to the saddle, so that was a good thing. I looked back at the tailfin and lifted my foot up to the rope pulled the fin open. It worked. And it felt a little easier, too.

"I think we should try to stay low on the trees," I said. "And try not to go too fast, okay?"

'Don't worry, I won't,' Toothless assured me.

For the next ten minutes we continued to fly low over the forest. It wasn't a smooth ride, but we were doing fine. It was the first time that we had been in the air and nothing bad happened yet, so I was actually able to really see what it was like; it was amazing! Even though we weren't very high or going very fast, the view was certainly something. And the _feeling_! The feel of the wind on my face and through my hair- it was wonderful!

'Enjoying yourself?'

I looked down to see Toothless looking up at me, a small smile on his face. I smiled, and nodded.

"Very," I said, looking around. "I never knew it was this cool to fly."

Toothless chuckled. 'If you think this is cool, just wait until we get some real flying done.'

I opened my mouth to say something but I was stopped when suddenly there was a strong gust of wind that blew from the side. The force through us off course and we started shifting around. I yelped as I went backwards a bit, and I thanked Thor that the harness had worked. But when I moved the rope had moved, leaving the tailfin closed. At once we started rocking back and forth, descending lower and lower.

'Hicca!' Toothless yelled.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" I turned around, trying to reopen the tail. "C'mon, you stupid…!"

But it was no use. I grunted irritably and turned my head around. We were going down and going down fast. We past up some trees and came across a bright green field. It looked soft enough to land on, but at the speed we were going…

'Hold on!' Toothless hollered.

The only response I could manage was a loud scream before we hit the ground. Toothless roared as he fell face first into the grass and started rolling around. In the struggle the harness had come undone and I practically flew off the saddle and into the long grass. I yelped, grunted and coughed as I tumbled through the grass. Soon enough I rolled on my side a few times before finally coming to a stop. I slowly lifted myself up, coughing and spitting dirt out of my mouth. I wiped my eyes before standing up, staring around.

"T-Toothless!" I called out. "Toothless, are you alright?"

'Don't worry, I'm fine," he responded, and I sighed with relief. 'What about you? Are you hurt?'

"Nah, I'm okay."

There was a moment of silence…

'My gods…!'

Suddenly from the corner of my eye I saw an area of grass start shifting wildly. I stared in confusion.

'Hicca, get over here!' Toothless called, sounding excited. 'This grass- it's amazing!'

…_What?_ I shook my head and started walking through the grass. I pushed my way around, trying to find Toothless. It took me a minute but I soon got to the patch of shifting grass. I poked my head through, and saw… _What the hell am I looking at?!_

What I was looking at was the great, giant Night Fury rolling around on his back, his jaws hanging open, and his tongue flapping everywhere. I blinked, staring at the giant reptile.

"We just crashed," I said, a grin spreading on my face. "And you think now's a good time to start rolling around in the grass like a cat?"

'I can't help it,' Toothless said airily. 'This grass… Ooh, it's like heaven!'

Toothless continued to roll around in the grass, purring loudly like a new born kitten. I continued to stare at him until I felt my smile widen as I slowly started to laugh, and once started it was hard to stop. I hunched over, wrapping my arms around my stomach as I laughed loudly. Soon my knees gave way and I felt myself fall on my side. I rolled over on my back, trying to catch my breath. I panted a little as I opened my eyes to look at the sky. Instead I was looking up at the wide, adorable eyes of my dragon friend as he stood over me. I blinked a few times then let out another small laugh, folding my arms behind my head, and winked at him.

"Hey there."

Toothless chuckled, but didn't look away or move. I waited for him to say or do something.

"What are yah staring at?"

'You,' he answered simply.

"Why?"

'Because you're cute when you laugh.'

I blinked and suddenly I felt my face start to burn, and the fact that Toothless was still staring down at me made it worse. Not only that, I could also feel my heart start to beat slightly faster. Gods, why does my chest feel so tight? Why's it hard to breath?!

I gulped, trying to calm down.

"Y-you're just being sweet," I said, pushing myself to sit up.

Toothless nodded. 'Yeah, I am. But I'm also honest.'

I turned and stared at him, and his eyes held a serious gaze. After a second he closed his eyes and let out a small yawn.

'Boy, I'm a little tired,' he said. 'I think it's the grass…'

I stared all around, looking at the tall grass. Then I reached down and grabbed a small handful and pulled it up. I looked at the clump of grass in my hands, thinking for a moment. A second later I stuffed it in my pocket.

_I wonder if I works on other dragons._

* * *

(1 day later)

We were training with the Gronkle again today, and it was not going too well. I don't know what was wrong, but that dragon was in a really bad mood. It was roaring like mad and thrashing in the air. It continuously fired at us, and when it was out of shots it resulted to ramming us and slamming us against the stone walls of the ring. Whatever was wrong with it, it needed to be calmed down. And I had just the thing.

I took the clump of grass(I had nicknamed it 'dragon-nip') out of my pocket and looked down at it. I nodded, then looked up to see the Gronkle was looking right at me. It glared at me and started speeding my way. I gulped as I backed up against the wall. Having no other options, I closed my eyes and started to think really hard, concentrating on making the dragon understand me. _Please don't hurt me! I mean you no harm! _I opened my eyes ever so slightly to look at what was coming. The Gronkle skidded to a halt in front of me and stared down at me.

'It's true, then,' it said in a deep female voice that was surprisingly gentle. 'You know about us. The Zippleback told me, but I didn't believe him.'

I gulped, and nodded. _Why are you so upset today?_

'I... I have my reasons.'

_Well, I have something that might help. _I reached my hand out so that the dragon-nip was against the Gronkle's nose. She flinched at first, but after sniffing the nip her pupils went wide and a smile appeared on her scaly face.

'Oh my word…'

I smiled and I started to rub the grass against her nose. She sighed and fell over on her side, a satisfied growl coming from her throat.

'Oh my, that's divine!' she said airily.

I smiled, trying not to laugh. I gently left the nip on her nose and pulled my hand away.

"Hicca!" Gobber called to me.

"I'm coming!"

I walked around the Gronkle and ran up to Gobber. He was staring at me in surprise.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh, you know…" I rubbed my neck. "Just a… trick."

"A trick, eh?" Gobber looked back at the Gronkle. "Well, whatever yah did yah knocked it out. Good job, Hicca. Alright, class dismissed. All of you be back for the next lesson."

Gobber walked off to go put the dragon away. I was about to walk away when somebody pushed me by my back and led me in the other way. I turned my head and was surprised to see Tuffnut and Ruffnut.

"Huh? Guys, wha-"

"Shut up and tell us how you did that!" said Ruffnut.

"Did what?"

"Take down that dragon! Duh!" said Tuffnut.

I blinked at them both. _Seriously? That's what this is about?_

"I- I don't-"

"Alright, cuz," Snotlout came up and grabbed my shoulder as we continued walking. "You need to start talking. The Zippleback was one thing, but the Gronkle, too? C'mon, tell us your secret!"

"B-But, I don't have any-"

"Bull crap!"

I knew that they weren't buying it. All of them kept pelting with so many questions that I didn't have time to answer anyway. Though it was a little strange I actually liked the attention a little bit. It was certainly better than being picked on, to say the least. I casually looked at the sky to see how low the sun was, and saw it wasn't sunset just yet. _Still got some time. I guess I should go visit Toothless._

"Ooh, sorry guys, I left my ax back in the ring," I said sadly. "No, you guys go one, I'll see you later."

I turned and started to walk away, but I stopped when I nearly bumped into Austen.

"Oh! Sorry, Austen."

I quickly moved around him and started to speed-walk away. I was in such a hurry I almost didn't notice the angry and suspicious look on Austen's face.

Almost.

* * *

"Would you rather jump in an ocean of sharks, or a lake filled with eels?"

'You're kidding, right? Sharks, of course!'

"Figures," I looked up at the sky as my head moved in the grass. "Your turn."

'Hmm, let me think,' Toothless stayed silent for a moment. 'Would you rather… fight a pack of wolves or, uhh… kiss a squid.'

I spluttered as I sat up and stared at him. "Kiss a squid?!" I cried, trying to hide my laughter. "What kind of a question is that?"

'Don't judge me! I'm running out of ideas here!'

"...Fair point," I shrugged. "We have been doing this for a while. Um, I guess… kiss a squid?"

This time Toothless looked up at me, his eyes wide with surprise. I shrugged in a 'so what' sort of way.

'Wow, and you though _I_ had issues.'

We stared at each other before I burst into laughter, and Toothless laughed with me. After a minute of laughing I looked back up at the sky, up at all the strangely shaped clouds. Then I let out a loud yawn.

"Geez, I'm exhausted," I sighed as I folded my arms behind my head. "I feel like I didn't get any sleep at all last night."

'Is it your Viking classes?' Toothless asked.

"Yeah, them…"

'What do you even do in those classes, anyway?'

"Oh, umm…"

Aw man, what now? I can't tell him what goes on in training! If he finds out that I'm being trained to fight dragons who knows what will happen. Will he be mad? Upset? What do I do?!

"Uhh… Hey! I-I got another one!" I said quickly. "W-would you rather eat a bucket of snakes or, uhh… o-or…"

Toothless sighed. 'Look, Hicca, if there's a reason why you're not telling me about your classes I'm telling you now, you have nothing to worry about. If your scared about me being angry or anything I swear I won't be,' I heard him shift his weight, and from the corner of my eye I thought I saw him look at me. 'You know you can tell me anything, right?'

That made me think. In all my years the only person I had ever been comfortable talking to was Gobber. But even then, there were some things that I was still scared to talk to him about. But with Toothless, the only thing I had kept from him was the truth about my classes. Since I had first started talking to him I had never held back anything else. But still, I had to be sure that telling him wouldn't ruin anything.

"I know…" I said finally.

We both sat in silence for the next minute, staring up at the sky, and the color slowly turned into a darker blue and orange as the sun started going down. Then I heard Toothless start to shift around. I moved my head so I was looking upside-down at Toothless. He was sitting up now, his paw scratching behind his ear, an irritated look on his face. I sat up and looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

"You okay?" I asked.

'Not really,' he strained. 'My neck itches, but- I can't- reach!'

I couldn't help but laugh as Toothless continued to struggle. I stood up on my feet and walked over to him.

"Calm down, big guy, I got it," I said as I reached up and started scratching behind his ear.

Toothless tensed for a second before he started leaning against me, purring louder and louder. I chuckled slightly. I kept scratching all over until I scratched a spot under his chin. At once, Toothless' whole body seized up and he fell to the ground on his stomach. I stood frozen, my hands still in the air from where they had been scratching.

"…Toothless?"

The only response I got was a soft, sleepy grumble. I ran up and slid on my knees in front of him. Then I picked up his face and placed him in my lap, patting his face to try to wake him up.

"Toothless, please, wake up," I urged, sounding a little scared. "Please, just tell me you're okay."

'…I'm… fine,' he mumbled. 'Just… sleepy…'

And without another word he started to snore softly, falling asleep in my lap. I blinked in surprise, then smiled softly as I began petting him.

* * *

Gobber had gotten out the Nadder again. This dragon was just was just as fierce as it had been the first time. But, like with the Gronkle, I had a plan for this one.

I watched from the sideline as Austen fought with the Nadder. Their fight went on for about a minute before the dragon went away from him, looking rather board. It then spotted me and instantly made a B-line for me.

'How did you find out about us?' a loud female voice echoed in my head. 'Tell me now!'

I gulped, waiting for the right moment. When the Nadder was only five feet away I dropped the weapon in my hand and stood stalk still. The dragon stopped when it was right in front of me, and gazed down at me. It seemed to be examining me.

'The others and I don't know whether you're against us or not,' she said lowly. 'Are you a friend or an enemy?'

I smiled. _I'm a friend._ The dragon blinked, staring at me with her beautiful amber eyes. Suddenly there was a loud yell from somewhere, and we both turned. Austen was running towards us, his ax held at the ready.

'Ugh, this guy again,' the Nadder groaned. 'Can't he take a break?'

_He never takes breaks._ I stood for a moment trying to think of what to do. Then it hit me. _Hold still! _Without waiting for a response I reached up and started scratching the Nadder's neck. She didn't say anything, but purred a little. Then I hit the spot under her chin and she fell instantly to the floor. I looked up and saw Austen standing there, his ax still held up, and a dumbfounded look on his face. I grinned sheepishly, shrugging. His face fell into a glare and he stomped away angrily.

_What the hell is his problem?_

* * *

_Week 5. Tailfin; version 2. Stirrup test. Test 6._

Since the field incident me and Toothless had not crashed anywhere once. Not only that, I had gotten started on making a stirrup to help control his tailfin. Even though it was still a prototype, it was working nearly perfectly. It still needed to be fully adjusted, but still.

'How did we do today, Hicca?' Toothless called out.

"Pretty good," I said. "The stirrup seems to be working fine. Alright, let's go ahead and land."

Toothless nodded, and we slowly made our way to the ground. We landed softly(for the most part) and came to a halt. I unhooked myself from the saddle and hopped off.

"Three good flights around the trees, I'm impressed," I undid the stirrup and the tail and examined it. "Hmm, a few screws got loose, though."

I walked over and sat against the rock. I pulled over my small tool bag(I had started bringing it with me for any immediate adjustments on anything) and opened it. I moved a couple of things and pulled out a hammer, placing it against the rock. Then I reached back in and pulled out a large screwdriver. I set down the bag and got to tightening the screws. Within a minute I was done, and I examined it.

"Looks fine to me. You wanna go again, bud? …Toothless?"

I looked up and saw Toothless a few feet away, looking like he was trying to crawl up the wall. I stood up, staring at him. What on earth was he doing?

"Toothless, what are you-"

'There's something on the wall!'

"What?"

'On the wall! I'm trying to _catch it_!'

I stared at him as he continued to claw at the wall. I turned to the wall, squinted at it hard. Then I blinked. Right there against the rock was what looked like a small ball of light. It was just hanging there, suspended just above Toothless' reach. I stared at it for a moment before something bright caught my eye. I looked down and saw my hammer, sitting against the rock and in the sunlight. _It's a reflection from the sun!_ Feeling curious, I bent over and picked up the hammer.

'Hey! Where did it go?' Toothless yelled, sounding disappointed.

I raised my eyebrow, then smirked. I slowly crawled around and hid behind a small rock. Then I lifted the hammer and held it in the sunlight. _I just gotta angle this right, and…_

'There it is!'

At once Toothless ran forward, reaching for the ball of light. Just when he was about to 'catch it' I shifted the hammer so the light moved forward. Toothless blinked and instantly started chasing the light around.

'What the- No, stop- Ugh, get back here-!'

He continuously crawled and pawed at the ball of light, never once noticing I was controlling it. He ran right pass me several times and he still didn't see me. It wasn't until he was close enough to hear me laughing that he finally stopped. Glancing up from his clearly empty paws, he looked up at me. I looked back at him, still laughing.

"Having fun?" I choked out.

Toothless blinked at me, his jaws hanging open for a moment. Then he closed them, and a smirk grew on his scaly face. He took a step back and he crouched down in a pouncing position. I dropped the hammer and stood up, slowly walked backwards.

"Toothless, no," I stuttered slowly. "No no, bad dragon. Stay…"

But with every step I took back, Toothless took another step forward, never leaving his position. I gulped, trying to think of an escape plan. Unfortunately, the back of my foot came into contact with a rock and I fell backward. The second my back hit the dirt Toothless pounced. He landed over me, his paws landing on either side of my head.

'You think it's funny to mess with a Night Fury, do you?' he said in a serious voice that was clearly playful. 'Well, that was your mistake. Now you will be punished for your foolishness. No mercy!'

And before I could stop him he started licking me. I instantly started laughing, trying to push him off but with no success. Then Toothless started poking my sides with his paw, tickling me even more. I was laughing so hard by now that I couldn't even breath. It was like he was trying to tickle me to death!

"T-Toothless! Pl-please!" I cried. "I g-give! Uncle, uncle!"

Toothless snorted. 'Please, you're not getting off that easily.'

"N-no, stop! I m-mean it!"

'But I said no mercy!'

* * *

"Meet the Terrible Terror."

I looked down at the tiny cage door that was swinging back and forth. I raised my brows, wondering where the dragon was. Then I looked down lower to see the Terror standing in front of us all. It stared up at us with wide, yellow-orange, non-blinking eyes. Despite the not blinking part, the dragon looked pretty cute. Then it looked at me and took a step towards me.

'You're the human who can understand us,' it said in a squeaky male voice. 'Hmm, you look friendly. Are you?'

I smiled at him, and gave a small nod. Then I heard the twins start to snigger, and the Terror turned and glared at them.

'But I can tell they aren't.'

Then Tuffnut laughed. "Ha! It's like the size of my-"

But before he could finish the Terror jumped on him and landing on his face. Tuffnut screamed as he fell on his butt.

'You watch you're language!' the Terror snapped, and he bit Tuffnut's nose, hard.

"Ahh! Get it off!" Tuffnut yelled. "Ooh, I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!"

I covered my mouth as I let out a small giggle, but I was a little worried. What if the Terror got in trouble for hurting someone? Then I remembered the light thing! I quickly grabbed my shield and angled it so the sunlight reflected off the silver in it.

"Get it off! Get it off!"

_Psst! Over here!_ The Terror looked at me for a second before his eyes snapped down to the light on the ground. He released Tuffnut's nose and hopped off him. He cooed happily, running around and chasing the little light.

'Pretty light! Pretty light! Pretty light!'

I giggled slightly. I slowly led him over to his cage door. When the light landed on the door he looked up at me, seeming to understand.

'I gotta go back in?'

I nodded.

'Eh, probably best anyway. Nice meeting you.'

I smiled as the Terror started to walk into this cage. He stuck his head through the door and scrambled to get in. then he quickly shot in and I held my foot against the door to keep it shut.

"Wow, she's better than you ever were." I heard Tuffnut say.

I turned my head to see everyone was staring at me, all in amazement. All except for Austen; he was standing there, shooting a furious glare at me. I swallowed, trying not to show I was worried. _Why does he have to be so angry?_

* * *

**And there yah have it! How do you think i did with these scenes? Good? Bad? Who Cares? I liked it and i had fun writing it. SO, i'll be back soon!**


	9. Stuck

**Here I Am! I gots another chapter! I hope you're ready for it! I am! NOW READ!**

* * *

Ch. 9  
Stuck

Austen's P.O.V.

"_Did you see Hicca in the ring today?"_

"_That little lass sure has a way with dragons."_

"_How much do you wanna bet she'll be able to kill the dragon?"_

"_Hicca's gotta be the best trainee we've had yet!"_

Everywhere I went these seemed to be the only things I ever heard. The only thing the village ever seemed to talk about now was Hicca. _Hicca did this… Hicca was great in training… Hicca… Hicca… HICCA! _

_Can't they talk about anything else? _I thought bitterly. _Why this? Why… her?_

I took a deep breath. I needed to calm down, but I also needed to get rid of my anger. And I knew the only thing that could do that. I quickly grabbed my ax and headed for the door.

"I'm going out, mom. I'll be right back," I called before opening the door and going outside.

Within about thirty minutes I was finally in the forest, in my usual spot. I only ever come out here to train with my weapons, or to just relieve some anger. Which was what I was out here to do in the first place. So, I got into a stance, raised my ax, took careful aim, and threw it hard at the tree. It hit with a loud _thunk_ as it embedded itself in the trunk's center, right where I wanted it to go. I walked up and yanked it out, bits of wood flying out. Then I groaned irritably._ What the hell is her deal? Who does she think she is?_

I raised my ax and threw it at another tree, and once again it hit the center. I went up and pulled it out. _How did she get so good?_ I tossed the ax in my hands then threw it at another tree the same way I did with the other one. _She's never trained a day in her life, and now she's the best in the class? How does that even work?!_ I stomped forward and grabbed the handle of my ax, but I didn't move anymore. A small thought came to me. _Am I… jealous?_ I shook my head and quickly yanked the ax out and threw it. _No! I can't be jealous of her! _Another yank! Another toss! _I'm not jealous of some girl who's… never had any recognition… for doing something good… ever…_

Suddenly a wave of shame washed over me. It was true. All the attention Hicca had ever gotten was mean and hurtful because of the mistakes she made. Now that she was finally being treated nicely I was going to hate her for it? _…What's wrong with me?_

I let out a furious yell as I turned around and did a summersault in the air. I raised my ax and was about to throw, when I stopped. Hicca was standing right in front of me, clutching some weird saddle-like thing in her hands. She gasped when she saw me, taking a step back. I blinked, lowering my ax slightly.

"…Hicca?"

She stared back at me for about two seconds before turning and quickly walking away. I blinked in surprise, then I started to follow her.

"Where are you going?" I called after her.

She completely ignored me and kept going until she broke into a run. I ran too, trying to catch up with her. But then she ran around a huge rock and out of sight. I ran up and jumped on top of the rock and crawled over it. When I looked around Hicca was nowhere to be seen. She just… vanished!

"Damn," I grumbled, hitting my fist against the rock's surface.

I groaned as I slid off the rock and back on the ground. What was Hicca doing all the way out here? Could this be where she had been going whenever she disappeared after training? _Training… Yes, that's it! She must be coming out here to train. But, alone? Or… was she meeting someone? _It was then that I froze, not moving a muscle. _Maybe she was coming out her just to see someone? A friend, or… a boy… _A large lump seemed to have formed in my throat, but I tried desperately to ignore it. _Don't be stupid!_ I told myself. _Hicca has never had a boyfriend in her life. I mean, sure, she's pretty and all, but…_ I stopped when I realized what I had just thought. I then smacked my forehead. Hard. I did _not_ just call Hicca pretty!

I sighed, feeling a lot more stressed then I did when I came out here. Soon enough I resumed my walking and started to head home. I just needed to lie down a bit, that's all. I needed to clear my head in a better way, and help myself to not thinks of such ridiculous things. I do not think that Hicca is pretty. And she is definitely not meeting up with a boy.

…Right?

* * *

Toothless' P.O.V.

'By the way, what took you so long to get here?'

"I told you," said Hicca. "I just ran into a little issue on the way, that's all. Now, hold still so I can get this on you."

I nodded and sat still while she went to work. Over the past couple of days Hicca had finally finished my tail. She had managed to connect the tailfin, the stirrup and the saddle all together. Today we were gong to test it out for the first time, and we were both excited. I had a good feeling that this was the one that was going to keep me in the air. But today's test was different. Instead of trying the new tail in the air way from the land, Hicca had another idea. She had hammered a stick into the ground and tied a rope from it to the saddle-strap around my neck. She said it was a way of testing us with the wind.

After making sure everything was tightly bound to me, Hicca made a small note in her book, muttering to herself.

"Week 6; completed tail test; test 1..."

I chuckled as I sat and waited for her to finish. She placed her book into her waistband and then climbed onto my back. I heard a soft click as she placed her foot in the stirrup.

"Wind feels good," she commented. "Should be fine for a few small tests. Ready?"

'Sure.'

Hicca nodded. Then the wind started to pick up until it was blowing hard in our faces. There was a loud click as Hicca opened the tail. I opened my wings and I was lifted into the air until the length of the rope stopped me. The feeling of the wind blowing hard around me was similar enough to gliding in the air. Overall, it was nice. For about thirty minutes we continued to hang in the air and test the tail in every way; landing, turning, rising, etc. Hicca continuously took notes in her book, even drawing 'positions,' as she called them, to help her know how to work the tail right. Just when she was talking about maybe taking off the rope and doing a real test run there was a huge gust of wind that blew me in the air.

_Snap!_ Suddenly the rope split and the force of the wind sent us flying back into the woods. A loud roar sounded from my throat and I could hear Hicca yelling. We zoomed pass trees and went through bushes for about a minute before we started to slow down. We rolled a few times before skidding to a halt. I groaned as I slowly lifted my head up, shaking it slightly.

'Ugh… Hicca?'

I turned my head and saw Hicca on the ground on her knees, rubbing dirt out of her eyes. I stood up to see if she was alright when suddenly she slid back and rose up. For a second it looked like she was hovering in the air, but then she reached up and pulled on the rope of her harness, which was still attached to the saddle.

"Ooh, great…" she groaned.

'What's the matter?' I asked.

"My harness is stuck to the saddle, that's what," she yanked a couple times on the rope but nothing changed. "Ugh, perfect! It's all lodged in and I don't have any of my tools!"

'Well, where are they?'

"…"

'Hicca?'

"They're… back home…"

I stared at her, then sighed. It looked pretty bad. Without Hicca's tools she wouldn't be able to get unstuck. It didn't look like we had any options.

Then Hicca stood up. "C'mon," she said.

'Where are you going?' I asked, my brow raised.

"_We_ are going to get my tools."

* * *

"Remember, be quiet," Hicca whispered. "We can't let anyone know we're here. If someone sees you-"

'Don't worry, we'll be fine,' I assured her.

She grinned a little, and nodded. Holding onto the rope of her harness, she quickly but quietly led me out towards the building that Hicca said held her tools. As she looked around I turned and spotted a small bucket. Feeling curious(and thinking there might be fish in there) I stuck my head inside. Nothing at all. I lifted my head up but the bucket was stuck. I shook my head viciously until the bucket flew off. _Crash!_

"Toothless!" Hicca hissed lowly.

'I'm sorry!' I whispered quickly.

Hicca sighed, then continued until she was inside the building. She walked over to a table and lit a small candle that provided a little light; not enough to be seen from outside, but just enough to see inside. She held the candle in one hand while she got on her knees to look around.

"Come on," she grumbled bitterly. "Where are you, you bloody little…"

That made me chuckle.

"There it is!"

Hicca stood up and placed the candle on a table. She walked around me with a strange tool in her hand and started to work on the saddle hook. I turned away from her and looked around the room. It was large, to say the least, and looked cozy enough. Tools scattered the area and drawing of what looked like weapons hung on the walls. There were so many! There was one that looked like it could shoot arrows, a rather large one that looked like a bola cannon, one that looked like a drawing of a tail-

I blinked several times before realizing what I was looking at. There on the wall was a large picture of the original tailfin Hicca had made for me, and all around it were smaller pieces of paper that were covered in small notes and additional drawings.

"Got it!" Hicca marched in front of me, setting her tool down. "Ha ha! And to think we were worried."

I didn't say anything, but continued to stare at the blueprints of my tail. I took a few steps forward until I was right up against the desk. The drawing was amazing! Everything about it- the texture, the details… it was wonderful.

"Toothless?"

But I stayed silent. My eyes examined every single design before landing on the beautiful artist herself. Yeah, you heard me. I called her beautiful.

"You okay, bud?" she asked.

I smiled at her. 'Never better,' I walked away from the desk and right up to her. 'All this; you did all of this just to help me fly. You worked so hard for me.'

Hicca hung her head slightly, but I could still see the small smile on her face and the soft blush growing on her cheeks.

"It's nothing," she said, tucking her bangs behind her right ear(Gods, she looks so cute when she does that!). "Really, it's my fault you can't fly, so I have to-"

'No, you don't,' I said, and I walked closer to her. 'You never _had_ to do anything, but you did anyway. You _chose_ to help me, just like you _chose_ to spare my life. All you've done is help me and be kind to me. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. I've never had a friend like you.'

Hicca finally looked up at me, her cheeks still blushing, and her face smiling a wide but shy smile. I thought I saw her green eyes start to gleam a little, like she was tearing up. I quickly took another step towards her and started to lick her face. It wasn't like when we were playing around. My licks were soft and sweet, and I trying to show affection. Hicca giggled, her cheeks going a little redder than before. I smiled then nuzzled my head against her cheek. She sniffed and I felt her hands wrap around my neck in a gentle hug. I purred softly as she rested her head against mine.

Suddenly thee was a crashing sound and we both gasped and turned around. My tail had moved without knowledge and had knocked over what looked like a small toolbox.

'Hicca, I'm so sorry!' I said quickly. 'I didn't mean to-'

"It's okay, it was an accident!" she whispered, raising her hands to my face to calm me down. "You didn't do anything wrong. But we should probably leave before-"

"Hicca? Are you in there?"

Hicca gasped, freezing where she stood, and breathed, "Oh crap! Austen!"

She quickly blew out the candle and ran around frantically, as though looking for something. I stayed stalk still, trying not to move or make a sound. For the first time in a long time I felt a little afraid to be seen by a human. But what really got my nerves going was the fact that 'Austen' was obviously a _boys' _name, and it was clearly a _boy_ who just spoke from outside.

'Hicca, who's Austen?'

"Not now, bud!" she hissed, putting on some kind of apron. "Just stay still and don't make any noise."

"Hicca?" the boy called Austen said again.

"C-coming!" Hicca turned and pointed an almost threatening finger at me. "Not a sound!"

Before I could respond she quickly opened the doors and shut them behind her, but not before I caught a glimpse of the figure outside. Tall, young, and decently handsome. I don't know why, but just the thought of Hicca being anywhere near him made me feel like a rock had fallen to the pit of my stomach, and I didn't like it at all.

"H-hey, Austen!" I heard Hicca say cheerfully. "Austen, hi! Uh… hi!"

"Everything alright?" Austen asked. "I heard some noises like something broke. I could hear it from my house."

"Oh, it's fine! I'm just, um… working on a project, that's all!"

I couldn't help but snort a little. I slowly creped up a bit until I was up by the door. Through the crack I could see Hicca, her back to me and against the surface of the doors. I glanced down and saw the strap of her harness around her waist. _Maybe if I reach for it…_ Slowly and gently, I leaned forward and slightly pushed my snout through the crack of the doors. I opened my mouth and closed it on the waistband of her harness. I could almost feel her tense up, and I knew that she knew I was there.

'Hurry up, let's go,' I said so only she could hear me.

_We'll leave as soon as he does!_ I heard her thoughts snappishly.

"So, yeah, everything's fine here," Hicca said, trying to sound a little normal. "Can't see why you would care, though."

"I don't," he said shortly. "I don't normally care what people do, but you've been acting weird. …Well, weirder."

_How dare he!_ I thought bitterly. _She's not weird! She's funny and adorable!_ Willing myself not to jump out and attack him, I gave the slightest tug on the harness, and Hicca gasped as she was forced to step back._  
_

_Stop it! He might see you!_

"S-so, I'm fine. So… Yep!"

I saw the boy stare at her, a strange look on his face. Feeling suspicious, I concentrated on hearing his thoughts, but I was not prepared for what I heard.

_Does she have to be such a freak?_

_THAT'S IT!_ Having had enough of this I bit down on the harness and pulled back. Hicca yelped as she was pulled through the doors. Ignoring her quiet protests, I dragged her to the next room quickly. Once I knew we would be out of sight from _him_, I finally released her. She clumsily staggered to her feet.

"Toothless! What are you thinking?!" she shrieked quietly. "He was right there! If he saw you-"

'Get on!' I cut her off, crouching lower so she could climb up.

"Huh?"

'We can't stay here. We need to leave before he finds us. Now, get on!'

Hicca stared at me, then groaned. She quickly hopped on my back and I felt her open up my tail. I opened my wings and pushed myself up to the sky hard and roughly. Hicca called out to me, telling me to slow down and to not be so rough, but it was like I couldn't hear her. I was so angry- so furious with that… _person_, that I didn't care about anything else. All I cared about was getting Hicca for away from him as possible. She didn't need to be anywhere near him.

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

It took us thirty minutes to get back to the cove. After what had just happened at the smithy Toothless had flown faster and harder than he should have been. I continuously told him to take it easy and slow down so as not to break the tail or anything, but he didn't listen to me. He didn't even talk to me. It wasn't until we were entering the cove that he finally started to calm down.

Within seconds we finally landed beside the waterfall. I hopped off the saddle and brushed myself off. Then I made an irritated noise as I turned and stomped forward until I stood in front of Toothless. I was so angry I was _this_ close to just slapping him!

"You wanna tell me what the hell _that _was about!" I snapped at him.

'What do you think it was?!' he said angrily. 'He was being a jerk to you for no reason!'

"Are you serious? That's what you got mad about?"

'Of course it is! He can't talk to you like that, it's not right!'

"I don't care!" I yelled. "He was probably about _this_ close to just leaving and everything would have been fine. But _no_, you had to flip out and risk exposing yourself! What if we didn't get away? What if he saw you?!"

At that point Toothless let out a low, almost angry growl. He looked up at me, his pupils only slightly smaller, and he started marching towards me. I blinked.

"T-Toothless?"

But he didn't stop moving. I took a few steps back until I hit the stone wall and I felt my back slide against the rock as I fell on my butt. I gulped. _What's gotten into him?_ Toothless finally stopped within an inch of my face. He stared down at me, his eyes staring deep into my own, and I felt my heart beat starting to speed up again. Just when I was starting to feel a little worried, Toothless let out a deep sound that sounded like a sigh, and his face fell into my neck. I froze, not sure what to do.

'I know you're worried about me,' said Toothless, and his voice was much softer. 'And I understand why, but that doesn't make what he said right. He doesn't know you- none of them know you like I do. You're the nicest person ever. You've done nothing wrong and he just stands there and insults you like it's nothing. And when I heard him think of you as a freak… I just snapped…'

As I heard his voice crack I felt him shutter slightly against me. _Austen was thinking I was a freak? _I turned my head slightly to look at him and I saw he hand his eyes closed. _That's what he meant by saying Austen insulted me... _I sighed, and brought my hands up to hold around his neck. Toothless purred softly, nuzzling into my neck.

"Why do I matter so much to you?" I asked him.

'Because you're my friend, and I care about you,' he responded simply. 'When it comes to dragons, we're very protective of the things we care about. It's in our nature.'

I felt my face brake into a grin, and I pressed my cheek against him as I hugged him more. Toothless purred, sounding a little more happy then before. We stayed like that for about a minute, not wanting to move. Then I sat up and covered my mouth as a loud, long yawn escaped from my throat. As I rubbed my eyes I heard Toothless chuckle.

'Somebody's sleepy,' he teased, nudging me.

"S-shut up," I yawned. "I'm f-fine. I just need to get home and-"

'No.'

For a split second I forgot about my drowsiness. I blinked and stared at Toothless. He had a stern look on his face and he was standing straight and unmoving. I frowned.

"What do you mean, no?"

'I'm not letting you go out this late at night,' Toothless said firmly. 'Besides, you're exhausted, and I don't want you passing out in the middle of the woods.'

"But-"

'No buts. You're spending the night here, and that's that!'

Through my now tired haze I stared at the very stubborn dragon. His face was set; he wasn't changing his mind, and he wasn't going to let me go. Finally seeing no way out, I sighed, and nodded.

"Alright," I rubbed my eyes. "Just let me get the saddle off you first."

Toothless smiled down at me, and I smiled back. I slowly stood up and began taking off the saddle. Once it was off, he walk over to the little cave that he slept in. Not really knowing what to do now, I set the saddle down as I laid back on the ground, folding my arms under my head.

'What are you doing?'

I lifted my head and turned to see Toothless, already laying down in the cave. He was looking at me curiously.

"I'm trying to sleep," I told him.

'Out there? By yourself?'

"Well, yeah…"

There was a pause…

'You know, it's a little cold out there. You should come in here.'

I stared at him. _Is he serious?_ Toothless nodded, and I mentally smacked myself for forgetting he could hear my thoughts. I bit my lip, then nodded. I stood up on my feet and made my way towards the cave. Toothless was smiling at me, keeping is eyes on me as I entered the cave. I was just about to sit down when he leaned back and opened his wing. I blinked.

'C'mon,' he said.

"Huh?"

'The air will get in and still make you cold, and it's too late to start a fire now. I just wanna help,' then he smirked. 'Come on, quit being shy.'

I glared at him as I felt my face and the back of my neck heat up. But then he smiled, and I knew he was just teasing. I grinned as I held my arms and slowly walked over to Toothless. I crouched down and crawled up until I was sitting against his side. Then his wing closed down on me, making me fall against him. I had not been expecting that, and I tensed up, my face starting to blush more.

'Don't be so nervous,' Toothless said gently, turning to smile down at me. 'You have no reason to be. I'm only being friendly.'

He continued to smile at me, and soon I smiled back. I let myself relax and found myself very comfortable. His wing was like a warm, leathery blanket, and his side was like a soft, scaly pillow. I sighed as I closed my eyes. A second later something smooth and wet grazed up my cheek, and I knew it was Toothless' tongue.

'Goodnight, Hicca,' he whispered.

"Mm… night, buddy."

Without another word I let the drowsiness take over me. And, for the first time in Thor knows how long, I slept with a smile on my face.

* * *

***singing* Why don't you stay... i'm down on my knees... i'm so tired of being lonely... I can give you what you need...**

***stops* wait, you need more chapters? ... Well i don't anymore right now! But i will later, and pretty soon as long as your patient. Sooooo... See yah!**


	10. Finally Flying

***very creepy* I'm heeeereeeee... and i know what scares youuuuuuu...**

**...**

**...Well, not really. But i DO know what you want; More Chapters! And i happen to have one right here. So, go ahead. Read it!**

* * *

Ch. 10  
Finally Flying

The first thing I remember feeling when I woke up was warmth. Safe, comfortable warmth. Then the feeling of smooth scales. It was then that I heard something that sounded like a loud, slow drum; a heartbeat. I slowly opened my eyes and I saw the large black dragon sleeping next to me. Everything that happened the previous night came back and I felt my lips widen in a smile. I sighed, continuing to look at the sleeping Fury. I had walked in the cove enough times to find Toothless taking a nap, but this was different. Waking up next to him, seeing him like this… I liked it. It was nice.

I continued to lay there, resting my head on Toothless' side as I waited for him to wake up. By the time he started to show any sign of waking up the sun was up and starting to shine in the cave entrance. He shifted and made weird snorting noises, and I giggled. Finally, with a great yawn, Toothless slowly lifted his head, shaking it slightly. Then he turned to look at me.

'So, you're here,' he smiled. 'I was starting to think it was some strange dream.'

"Nope. No dream," I told him. "Although, I did have a funny one where I was being chased by a three-headed sheep."

Of course, I had never dreamt of such a thing, but I was just trying to be funny. In my opinion, laughing first thing in the morning is the start to a good day. It must've worked because Toothless reared his head back and let out a tired but happy laugh. I chuckled at the look on his face, liking how he looked when he was happy. _So, he's a morning person, then. …Or, morning 'dragon'. Either way, that's good._ Once he stopped laughing he lifted his wing up so I could stand. I stood up and stretched out my arms and my back while Toothless stretched his wings and legs. After cracking the knuckles in my hands I started to walk outside, covering my eyes when the sunlight hit my face. A bright sunny morning, scattered clouds, and a cool breeze. _We might get a good flight in today._

'Hungry?'

I turned around to see Toothless walking up to me. When he stood next to me he nodded at the pond.

'I could catch you something, if you want.'

"Oh, you don't have to-" but I was cut off as my stomach gave a loud growl, and I blushed. "I-I guess I kinda missed dinner last night…"

Toothless smiled. 'Say no more.'

He nudged me playfully before hobbling off to the water. I smiled at him. Then I went around and started to find stuff for a fire, which mostly consisted of dead leaves and small branches. Not wanting to set anything on fire, I brought the stuff over just inside the entrance of the cave. I set it all up and grabbed two stones. I started to clash them together, trying to make a spark.

'Got it!'

I looked up to see Toothless standing there with a fish in his jaws. He walked inside and set the fish down next to me.

"Thanks," I said. "Now I just need a fire."

I leaned forward and looked down at the stones in my hands, feeling irritated.

'You're joking, right?'

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

Toothless sighed. 'Sit back.'

I sat back a little, looking confused. Toothless leaned over the sticks, seemed to take a small breath, and a bright blue light flew in. I blinked as the pile of sticks and leaves ignited.

"Oh, r-right," laughed nervously. "I kinda forgot about that."

'Well, now you know,' said Toothless as he sat next to me. 'Is doing that really necessary, though?'

I nodded, sticking a stick through the fish and holding it over the fire.

"Yeah. See, it's kind of hard to eat raw fish, plus it could make me and other humans sick."

Toothless blinked. 'You didn't tell me that when I gave you that fish before.'

"Yeah, well," I swallowed, trying to push the memory of that fish out of my mind. "I was trying to get on your good side, and I didn't think denying your fish was a good way to start."

'Oh…'

Within the next hour I had cooked and eaten my fish. After that me and Toothless just sat around and talked. I told him more about my village, the people in it, and about my life there. I had already told him the basics of it all, but he always wanted to know if anything new ever happened. He always seemed so interested in what I had to say. It was one of the reasons why I liked talking with him. I was just telling Toothless about how Gobber's fascination with trolls started when suddenly there was a loud, rumbling growl. I stopped and looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Then I heard it again, and this time I heard it come from right next to me. I slowly turned my head and looked at Toothless. He was hunched over, his front paws crossed-over his stomach, an embarrassed look on his face.

'I-I guess I'm a little hungry, too,' he said, looking up at me.

"A little?" I snorted. "If that's a little I'd hate to hear it when it's a lot."

Toothless merely shrugged. I looked at him for a moment before remembering the huge basket of fish I had brought for him last night. I had brought it and had intended on giving it to him after we had finished flying, but after the little fiasco that happened in the smithy I had accidentally forgotten about it. I looked around and sure enough there it was, sitting over by the other end of the pond.

"Wait here."

I stood up and ran over to grab the basket. I picked it up and ran back, trying not to trip or fall like I usually did. Toothless stood up and moved his tail in an excited way for about a second before looking shocked, and then calming down again. I chuckled.

"No reason to for _you _to be shy," I set the basket down. "You have every right to be excited. Here."

I opened the lid of the basket, exposing all the fish that filled it to the brim. Toothless beamed at the sight. Then he marched over, nudged the basket, and it fell, spilling the contents within it.

"Hey!"

But he ignored me as he already started eating. I snorted. Did he not realize how long it took to fill that thing up? Nah, probably not. Ah well, no big deal. I sat down and crossed my legs as I watched as Toothless devoured the entire basket, sometimes swallowing two at once. Once all the fish were gone he stuck his head all the way in the basket. _How much more does he need?_ He groaned when he didn't find anything, and attempted to get the basket off, but it was stuck. He spluttered in surprise and tried to pry it off, but for some reason it wouldn't budge. I giggled as he started thrashing his head around.

'Stop laughing, help me!'

"Okay, okay! Just stop moving!"

Toothless finally stopped panicking and stood still. I stood up and walked towards him, holding my arms out. I grabbed the handles of the basket and pulled with all my might while Toothless pulled his head back. Five more minutes of pulling and with a slightly rustled _pop_, the basket finally came off. I fell back a little, nearly falling on the ground. Toothless took several steps back, shaking his head. I set the basket down and looked at him. He had a faint circle of what I guessed was fish slime all over his face. I rubbed my chin, smirking.

"Hey bud?" he looked up. "Come over here."

Toothless followed me as I walked over to the edge of the pond. I lowered myself until I was sitting on my knees. I sat there and waited until I knew Toothless was right behind me.

'What it is?'

Not saying anything, I leaned forward and reached my hands into the water. I held still for another moment, the I whipped around, my hands bringing up as much water as they could. The water splashed onto Toothless' face, and he spluttered as he jumped back.

'HEY!'

I laughed as wrapped my hands around my stomach, trying not to tip and fall in the water.

"I'm sorry!" I called out. "But I couldn't resist!"

'_Ooh, _you are such liar!'

I laughed some more. "I know, I know. But I had good reason. There was slime all over your face and it bugging me."

'Then why didn't you just say so?'

Toothless groaned, lifting his paw up to somewhat wipe off his face. I rolled my eyes as I stood up. I held my sleeve with my hand and as I walked up to him I started rubbing it off.

"Don't be such a baby," I told him sternly.

Toothless didn't say anything; he didn't respond in any way. He just seemed to be looking at me as I wiped my sleeve on the wet spots on his face. When I came to realize that he was actually staring instead of just looking, I slowly stopped and looked back up at him. In that moment out eyes were completely locked with each other. We didn't blink, and we didn't look away. We just stood there, holding our gaze that somehow seemed to be growing more intense by the second. I suddenly felt like I was in a small room, and it was becoming more and more cramped with each second that I held my gaze. My legs felt a little numb, my heart was beating a little faster, and for some reason I was finding it harder to breath than before. Oh no, not this again. Why am I always like this when things feel… _different_ between us? Why is it only in moments like these that make me feel strange around him? Is it only because of these moments? And if so, why do I feel _this_? Is it… is it possible that I'm… falling for…

_No, don't say that!_ snapped an angry voice in my head. _Don't ever say that. That's crazy talk! You're not falling for a dragon._

_There's nothing wrong with that._ said another, more softer voice. _This all seems perfectly natural to me. And he's certainly more human than he should be._

_But he's not human! It can never happen for you two. And even if it could, he doesn't feel the same. Remember last night? He called you his 'friend.'_

_But he also said you were the most amazing person he had ever known._

_You're the _only _person he's ever known._

_Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that he cares very deeply for you._

'So, is that okay'

I gasped a little, blinking several times until I felt I was back in reality. All the tension was gone, and so were all the strange feelings going on with me. Although, my face still felt a little warm. I looked up at Toothless, who was looking at me in a hopeful way.

"Um… what?"

He tilted his head. 'I asked if you wanted to do a few test runs today.'

"Oh! Yes, yes we can," I paused. "Actually… I think, well…"

'Yes?'

"Well, I was thinking," I looked up at him. "I think we're ready for… a real flight."

Toothless looked confused for about 2 seconds before his eyes went wide and his jaws opened slightly.

'You mean… away from the land?' he asked, and I nodded. 'Do you think we're ready?'

I nodded, and said. "I know we're ready, bud. I think it's about time we finally try it out."

Toothless smiled. 'So… when?'

"Hm, how about now?"

'Oh, sure.'

After grabbing the saddle from where I had left it last night, I went over and placed it on Toothless' back. Once I had him strapped up I quickly got on and hooked myself up.

"Okay… Let's go!"

* * *

The cool wind blew against my face, running through my bangs and making a mess of them. I slowly glanced down below me, right at the long drop towards the ocean… I inhaled sharply, but I closed my eyes as I let it out slowly. _Stay calm, _I told myself. _You're gonna be fine. This is gonna work, you know it is._

"Okay there, bud. We're gonna take this nice and slow," I called out, patting Toothless' head.

'Whatever you say, Hicca,' he responded.

I took a deep breath. _Let's do this. _I looked down at the small cheat-sheet that I had drawn all my positions on.

"Here we go, here we go," I muttered lowly. "Position…three- No, four!"

I looked back and opened the tail as I moved the stirrup into position four. I turned back and looked forward. Toothless leaned to the side just a little, making us curve in a small circle in the air. After that he straightened us out, and we continued forward. I looked back at the tail, seeing how it worked with the wind. So far, so good.

"Alright, it's go time," I muttered. "It's go time…"

I turned forward and held onto the saddle tightly. Giving a small push to let him know what to do, Toothless then leaned forward and led us into a smooth dive. He continued down until we were just above the water. He leaned from side to side, one of his wings skimming through the waters' surface.

"Come on buddy, come on buddy!"

Toothless straightened out again and we started flying straight. It was then that I noticed we were coming up on two large stone pillars. A low growl came from the dragon.

'Here we go…'

I held onto the saddle even tighter, looking nervously up at the gape between the pillars. I could see a flock of birds flying overhead. I nodded, and we continued flying forward. Within seconds we finally passed between the stones, and I sighed, feeling a little relieved.

"Yes, it worked!"

But it wasn't a very long victory. Not even five seconds later we turned and accidentally rammed into a stone pillar.

'Hicca!'

"Sorry!"

Then another…

"Erm, my fault!"

Toothless let out a slightly irritated grunt. Then he turned his head and smacked my face with his ear.

'Focus!'

"Gah! Yeah, yeah, I'm on it!" I snapped, looking at my cheat-sheet. "Alright, position four. Uh, three."

I repositioned the tail again, and I pulled the saddle upward. Toothless tilted up and he started flying higher and higher in the air. Just the rush of all this was enough to make me beam.

"YEAH! Go baby!"

I felt so happy, so relieved that this was working. And Toothless was no exception.

'This is wonderful! It's actually working!'

"Ooh, this is amazing!" I called out happily. "The wind in my-"

Suddenly, in barely more than a heartbeat, I glanced down to see my sheet had slipped out the clip.

"Cheat-sheet!" I cried out, reaching around to grab it. "STOP!"

The second my hand grabbed the tiny sheet by my fingers was the second Toothless stopped flying. There was a second where we both just sort of floated in the air in mid air, then we began falling. It was at that point that I realized, to my horror, that my harness had unhooked itself, leaving me handing in the air, and leaving Toothless flightless. He looked up at me, and his face became full of fear.

'Hicca!'

My only response was a fearful yell as I began falling. My arms flailed everywhere as I spun and fell through the air.

"Oh my gosh! Oh, gods!"

Trying not to panic too badly I tried to look over at Toothless. He was flailing his wings and legs, letting out frightened roars.

'Hicca!' he yelled again.

"Y-you gotta angle yourself!" I yelled best I could. "Okay- No, no, no! Come back here-"

But I was cut off as Toothless' wing rammed right into me. I yelled as I was pushed several feet away. I grunted, but quickly shook it off. I opened my eyes and saw Toothless was falling closer towards me. I tried desperately to push myself forward, which worked just enough to put me in arms reach. I quickly turned myself and reached forward for the saddle. I was just able to grab it with my fingers, but it was enough. I pulled myself up until I was on the saddle again. Holding the sheet between my teeth I reached to my waist and hooked my harness to the saddle. As soon as I was on securely, I opened the tail and roughly leveled us out. By then we had passed through the fog that hung over the trees, which were all coming dangerously close. I gave a muffled yell as Toothless open his wings so we desended at an angel just over the trees. He let out a loud, scared roar.

'DO SOMETHING!'

I panicked slightly. I took the sheet out of my mouth and found that I could barley even see it. I looked up over it and saw we were heading right for what looked like a forest of rocks. I did a double-take from them to the sheet. _Screw this!_ I tossed the sheet away and leaned down on the saddle, holding it tightly. As if by instinct I started moving the tail in different positions. _Left! Right! Center! Left! Spiral around that rock! That's it! _Every movement we made was a movement made right as we flew straight out of the mess of rocks. We swayed slightly from left to as we finally passed the last rock and we were out of the maze. We flew out of the fog, finally slowing and calming down.

I looked back from where the rocks were, then I looked in front of me. _That was… wonderful!_ Hell, that was and understatement! Everything that had happened- the success at the beginning, the rush of falling and then flying through that maze of rocks, and the overwhelming joy to still be alive and live through it all… it was easy! It was wonderful! It was the greatest thing in the world.

Unable to contain my happiness anymore I threw my arms up and punched the air, yelling in victory.

"YEAH!"

Toothless gave a just as thrilled roar as he opened his mouth and a large blast of blue flame escaped it. I didn't mind at first. But then I saw the large the blast had grown into a large fire ball, and we were heading right for it. I moaned miserably.

"Ooh, come on…"

* * *

"Burned and singed every inch of me, you did," I grumbled irritably. "Geez, I'm a mess. You're lucky my dad's not here so I don't have to explain all of this."

'Oh stop, you're fine,' Toothless retorted.

Since he was already devouring all the fish I had brought him I didn't pay him any attention. I rolled my eyes as I glanced down at my own fish, hovering over the small fire. I continued thinking about everything that had happened that day, everything that we had accomplished. Everything that had happened today was practically perfect. Toothless could fly without any problems(other than needing me to help him fly, I mean) and the feeling of actually flying- _real_ flying… I've never felt anything like that before. It was the most wonderful thing in the world!

Then I heard a slight hacking sound from behind me. I turned just in time to see Toothless had hacked up part of a fish. He licked his lips and looked over at me expectantly. _He's gotta be joking…_

"Uhh… no thanks, I'm good," I said with as much politeness as I could muster.

'Just making sure,' he said in a teasing voice.

I rolled my eyes as I chuckled. At that point I heard what sounded like loud, squeaky chirping-like noises. I looked up and was surprised to see a small group of Terrible Terror's flying down. They all landed on the ground and started scurrying over towards us. From behind me I could hear Toothless growling angrily.

'Stay away, you little shrimps!' he hissed.

"Don't be mean," I said reproachfully.

'But it's _my_ fish!'

Despite Toothless' threatening voice the Terror's continued forward, chirping excitedly. I could've sworn I heard them whispering something like 'get the fish, get the fish!' One of them actually came close enough to take one of the fish. But as soon as I tried to Toothless snapped angrily at him.

'Back off!'

I rolled my eyes, wondering why he couldn't just learn to share. Well, it looked like someone wanted him to because one of the other Terror's quickly snatched the fish Toothless had hacked up and pulled it away. As it started eating another one came up to join it, but the first one growled and shot fire at the second one. I chuckled.

"I'm guessing you guys don't really like sharing, huh?"

'Not necessarily,' Toothless said, looking grim.

At that moment we both saw a fish suddenly pop up above the pile and start moving away. We both stared in amazement and confusion. But the truth was revealed once we both saw a third Terror dragging the fish away by its tail.

'Oh no, you don't!'

Suddenly Toothless reached forward and grabbed the other end of the fish. Despite the small tug-o-war, I knew the little guy wouldn't be able to get the thing. Sure enough, Toothless pulled back roughly and was able to yank the fish away, leaving the Terror with just the flimsy tail. After swallowing the fish whole he started laughing in the little one's face. The Terror spat the tail out and growled angrily. It got in a small stance, scratching its paws on the ground, as though about to charge. From the corner of my eye I saw Toothless smirk.

'Watch this.'

The Terror stood up on its hind legs, its jaw opened as it prepared to fire. _Zap!_ Toothless then shot a small blast of fire and it went right down the Terror's throat. It's stomach expanded like a bag of air and it fell flat on its front. Toothless snorted.

'Serves you right.'

At that point I reached up and flicked his ear. Hard.

'Hey!'

"Quit being a bully!" I snapped at him.

Toothless rolled his eyes. 'Oh _please_, she's alright.'

_She?_ I looked down at the dragon and I could just make out the small brown spots on her stomach. She stood up and started staggering around, moaning a little. Feeling concerned I leaned towards her a little.

"Are you alright?"

Her head snapped up towards me, and she stared at me. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then she nodded.

'Yes, I'm fine.'

I smiled at her. This was the first time I had spoken to a dragon other than Toothless without having to use my thoughts. It was nice. I looked down at her as she gave a small grunt, hunching over her stomach.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, huh?"

The Terror shook her head. I bit my lip. Then I reached over, picked up a fish and tossed it over.

"Here yah go," I said. "Go on, take it."

The Terror glanced at me before reaching over and grabbing the fish, gulping it down quickly. I smiled, crossing my legs under me.

'Thank you, miss!' she said happily.

I nodded. "Don't mention it. I'm not that hungry anyway."

The Terror looked up at me, her yellow eyes not leaving mine. Then, very slowly, she started walking towards me, pausing every few steps. When she was a foot away she stopped for a moment, then came right up and sat against my leg.

'You're very kind,' she said airily, placing her head in my lap. 'You're not like the other humans.'

"So I've been told."

But my voice was faint with surprise. The Terror purred soundly against my lap, her eyes closed. Slowly, I lowered my hand and placed it on her small back, rubbing it gently. She responded by purring louder, nuzzling her head against my lap. In that moment I admitted something that I had known for over a month, but had never truly admitted aloud until now.

"Everything we know about you guys… is wrong…"

* * *

We calmly and safely landed in the cove. I looked up at the sky, making sure it was clear. After we had left to get back all three Terror's had tried to follow us. I continuously told them in the nicest way possible, that they had to go back to their own home. It had taken some time, but eventually they had agreed to go their own way.

I nodded at the sky before sliding off the saddle.

"Man, what a day," I sighed as I started to undid the saddle.

'I know,' said Toothless. 'That was probably the best flight we've had yet.'

"Oh yeah. Falling out of the sky and nearly crashing into a bunch of rock is just peachy!"

Toothless laughed, and I laughed, too. Once I got the saddle off I set it off to the side, dusting my hands on my pants.

'Still, it was certainly something,' he said. 'Bet they don't teach you about that in your classes, huh?'

It was at that point that I stopped moving. Even the mention of training when I was around Toothless made me uncomfortable. Reason 1: we were training to fight dragons. Reason 2: because I hate lying to him. In fact, I was beginning to wonder why I was still lying to him. He had told me himself that he wouldn't be mad, but what if that changes?

_So you're just going to keep lying to him just because you're scared? _said a voice in my head. _Telling the truth can be scary, but that doesn't mean it's okay to lie._

_You have to! _said another voice. _He'll hate you if he finds out!_

_You can't think like that. You have to believe he'll understand._

_He'll never let you explain. He'll never trust you again if you tell him._

_If you're really his friend- if you really care about him, then you have to trust him. Everything will be alright._

'You okay?'

I blinked as I did a double-take. Toothless was looking at me, a slightly worried expression on his face. I made a metal note to stop having arguments with myself around him. I shook my head slightly, and looked up at him. I opened my mouth to say 'yes,' but for some reason the word wouldn't come out. _I… I have to tell him… _When I continued to be silent Toothless' expression changed.

'What is it?' he asked. 'What's bugging you?'

I gulped, and it felt like my throat was squeezing against a rock. I held my arms close to my sides, my hands clenching into fists. To put it plain and simple, I was scared. No, scratch that; I was _terrified_. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then I opened my eyes and looked up at Toothless, who was looking more worried than before.

"The truth is… Well, my classes…"

I paused for a moment. Toothless motioned for me to go on, and I nodded.

"They're… not just classes… They're training."

'Training for what?'

I swallowed hard, willing myself to go on. I was too far in now to lie or back out now. Toothless came up and nudge my arm.

'Don't be afraid,' he told me. 'You have nothing to worry about.'

I looked down at him for a few moments, then nodded.

"We… we're being trained to… to fight…" I bit my lip, and hung my head. "…dragons…"

I didn't lift my head, but instead kept it down and closed my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was actually look at him. He could've been looking down on me like I'm a disgusting animal for all I knew, but I didn't look up. I _couldn't_! I was still scared…

'Hicca,' I was surprised to hear his voice was very calm. 'Look at me.'

I paused, then shook my head viciously.

'Please, look at me.'

Only the pleading tone in his voice gave me enough strength to open my eyes. I hesitated for a few seconds before lifting my head. The light from the moon shined on my face, and I discovered my vision to be slightly blurred, but my eyes were moist. _Damn it, don't cry in front of him! Quit being a wimp!_

'You're not a wimp.'

_Damn it! He can hear your thoughts, you idiot! _I let out a shaky breath, not realizing that I was holding it at all. I sniffed as I quickly tried to hide my tears. I wiped them on my sleeve and tried to look Toothless in the eye, but I was too scared. Instead I glanced the other way, trying not to look at him. But then he nudged my face, and I couldn't help but look. He was staring at me with a sad, but almost understanding expression.

'I'm going to say this right now,' he said firmly. 'Hicca, I'm not mad at you.'

I blinked. "You're… y-you're not?"

'Of course not,' he looked even sadder. 'You were born into a Viking environment, and one that practically specializes in dragon kill… fighting. On top of that, you're the chief's daughter, so naturally you would be expected to train in that sort of thing.'

"But I don't _want _to!" I said loudly before I could stop myself. "Ever since I met you, learning to fight dragons was the last thing I ever wanted to do. But, my dad… Damn it, he never listens to me!"

I took a few staggering breaths, and before I could stop myself my knees buckled and I fell to the ground, my arms coming around to hold myself, like some kind of fragile shield. I hanged my head as I began sobbing into my chest. I felt weak; pathetic! Toothless was the last person that I wanted to have to see me in this way. I _hated_ this. I hated everything about this! Why did I have to feel this way? Why did I have to _feel_? Why did I…

Something warm and dark surrounded me, and I felt something that felt like huge arms with large paws wrap around my small frame. My sobbing subsided slightly, and I opened my eyes enough to see that everything was nearly completely dark. But when I looked up I saw Toothless, his head bowed over me and his eyes closed.

'Shh, it's okay, Hicca,' he said gently. 'Everything will be fine, I swear. But, right now, you need to promise me something.'

I swallowed, then closed my eyes as I leaned my head into his scaly chest.

"…Anything."

'Don't ever be afraid to tell me something ever again. No matter if you're scared or nervous, you tell me, understand?'

That made me stop. I had never known someone well enough to give them all of my trust, so this was a little intense, not to mention unexpected. Plus, I'm not one to go back on my promises, so it's a big deal. But still, Toothless was the only friend I had ever had. My trust was the least that he deserved.

"Yes… I promise…"

I felt Toothless' arms held onto me a little more as he let out a soft sigh. I grinned a little as I leaned against him. It was as though a large weight was lifted right off my shoulders. Now that everything was perfectly fine I felt pretty stupid for not telling him sooner. _That's the last time I lie to him again._

After sitting in the embrace for a while I had attempted to move away or at least look up, but Toothless was holding me so tightly I could move an inch. I patted his chest to get his attention, but he didn't move.

"Um, bud?"

'Listen, Hicca,' he sighed. 'I… I haven't been completely honest, either.'

"What?"

'There's one thing about dragons that I haven't told you about, yet.'

I stopped and thought for a moment. All this time I had been afraid of telling the truth, and it turns out I wasn't the only one with something to hide. But what was it? What was so strange or unusual that Toothless kept it from me until now?

"Well, whatever it is, you can tell me," I leaned my head against him. "If I can trust you, then you can trust me."

With my ear now on his chest, I could hear Toothless breath in deeply, and then let it out. I could also hear the loud thumping of his heart going a little faster. Then, after a moment, he finally moved back and removed his arms from me.

'It might be easier if I show you,' he said. 'But you might wanna close your eyes.'

"Why?" I asked.

'Trust me, if you watch it'll probably freak you out.'

"Toothless-"

'Hicca, please!'

I blinked in surprise. Was Toothless begging? Why? How bad was his secret? But whatever it was, I was going to help make it as easy as possible for him. So, I nodded, then closed my eyes.

'Can you see me?' he asked.

"Nope."

'…How many claws am I holding up?'

"Uhh… two?"

'Okay, you're good.'

I chuckled, then sat and waited. I almost couldn't hear anything, but I could hear him grunting every now and then. When I asked him if he was okay he said it was fine, and it had just been a while since he had done this. But…done what? What was he doing?

About five minutes after I closed my eyes everything finally went silent. I stood still, and wait for something to happen.

"Okay… you can open them now."

But when I heard these words they were not in my head, but coming form right in front of me. Feeling even more curious, I quickly lifted my head and opened my eyes. And I saw…

* * *

**OOOOHHH, THE CLIFFYS! DON'T YAH JUST _LUV_****_ EM?_**

***the audience starts screaming***

**Wow wow, calm down people. I've already started on the next one so it should be up within a week or so. Get it? Got it? Good! BYE!**


	11. A Dragons Tale

**Hey yall! Remember that cliff hanger i left you with? Yes? Well... I got the rest here! Now, i know some of you know what's going to happen, so i hope your expectations are met. For those of you who don't know... ENJOY!**

* * *

Ch. 11  
A Dragons Tale

A boy. Yes, a boy. Just a simple boy standing directly were Toothless had been moments ago. Ignoring the fact that he had appeared out of nowhere(and the fact that Toothless had just disappeared) I quickly took note of his appearance, which was very interesting, to say the least. He was tall, probably a foot taller than me. And judging by the looks of him he was probably about my age, or maybe even a year older. He had the build of an unusually strong teenager, with a broad chest, muscular arms and legs, and a strong, confident posture. His skin tone was the color of ivory, his solid black hair was a wavy mess that ended just below his ears, and at a small glance I could see his eyes were bright green. But, those were the only _human_ aspects of him. His whole arms, his neck, around his face, and the bit of chest I could see was all covered in faint smoky scales that were outlined in black. His ears were not that of a humans', but exactly like the ones Toothless had. And, if it wasn't obvious enough, he had a pair of large, bat-like wings on his back, and they were folded up behind him.

I stared at the boy, mesmerized by what I saw. I wanted to say something but nothing would come out. What was I suppose to say? _Hi there, nice to meet you. Now where's my dragon?_ But it didn't matter because just as I was thinking about saying something, the boy spoke.

"It's me, Hicca."

I gasped in shock. That voice was _Toothless'_ voice. The same voice I had been hearing and listening to since the first time we had ever talked to each other. I glanced up at the boys' face again, and received another shock. His eyes were not human either, but were entirely electric green(not a single bit of white in it), and they both had solid black orbs in the middle. They were looking down at me, a hopeful, yet scared expression written in them. And they looked so familiar…

"…T-Toothless?"

The boy smiled, and nodded. I inhaled slowly, my hand going to my chest.

"You… you're a…"

Toothless shrugged. "All dragons are shape-shifters."

"…Oh."

"I know, it's a little strange. I'm just glad we at least have our own cloths in this form."

As much as I was glad he was dressed, I was a little surprised. Toothless was, oddly enough, completely dressed in black. His pants were long and sleek, ending below his ankles. He had large boots, but they appeared to have more leather on them than the fur ones I had. His tunic, however, was very similar to mine, but he had no strings on the V-neck, so his chest was more exposed. And he was sleeveless. In fact, judging by the state of the tunic, it looked like the sleeves had been carelessly ripped off, but at the same time they were neat enough to stop evenly at his shoulders.

I swallowed hard, trying to stomach what I was witnessing. _Okay, so dragons can change into dragon humanoid things. No big deal. Hold on… _Feeling curious, I leaned to the side to look behind Toothless, and looked down. There was nothing there.

"No tail?" I asked.

"Nope."

"So, does that mean that… you can still fly on your own?"

Toothless nodded. "Yes, but I find it better to fly in my other form. Feels better; more free, you know?"

I nodded, not knowing what to say. I looked up at him, and I looked closely at him. As embarassed as I was to say it, Toothless looked…really handsome. Even with the dark scale surrounding his face. Suddenly a new curiosity had built up now. Taking a step closer I lifted my hand a little until it was level with my shoulder. Then I stopped.

"Umm… Could I, uh…"

Toothless looked at me for a second, one of his dark brows raised. Then he grinned, as though he actually understood. He bent over slightly so his face was somewhat level with mine.

"Go ahead."

I smiled, blushing slightly. Then I took another step forward, lifted my hand, and my palm cam into contact with Toothless' cheek. It was smooth, to say the least. It felt like normal human skin, except that when my fingers passed over the scales that surrounded his face they felt just like his normal scales, but with a thin layer of human skin over them. I continued touching his face until I lowered my hand to his neck, feeling the sales on the sides(only his small Adam's apple was scale-free). They felt the same, but they were clustered together more. I was so fascinated that I didn't realize what I was doing until I saw my fingers were touching the scales on the small bit of his exposed chest. I blushed furiously as I quickly broke contact, but didn't move away. I looked up at Toothless, and saw he was smirking slightly.

"Feeling curious, buddy?" he said teasingly.

"Sh-shut up!" I snapped, trying to sound less nervous than I actually was. "But, yes, I'm a little curious. I mean, no one else knows about this and… it's so fascinating!"

"Well, I'm glad I can be your source of admiration."

That made me blush even more, and I glared up at him. But he just smiled softly at me, and after a moment I smiled back. I reached my hand back up and touched the scales on his forearm. Still the same as his face and neck.

"How is this possible?" I asked, still looking his arm.

"I'm not entirely sure," he paused for a moment. "Well, there is this legend… But, you'll think it's silly."

"No I won't! I said quickly. "I _want _to know!"

"Well…"

"C'mon, _please_?"

I clasped my hands together and did the biggest pouting face I could muster, making small whimpers. Toothless looked at me for a moment, then sighed.

"Alright… I'll tell you…"

I smiled as I quickly sat down and crossed my legs. Toothless chuckled at my excitement and sat down in front of me, crossing his legs, as well. I leaned forward, waiting expectantly.

"There is a story, one that my mother told me when I was a hatchling," he started. "Long ago, when dragons were first created, the gods gave them certain abilities to help them survive in the world; incredible strength, fire power, and the ability to fly. But as much good as they knew these creatures would bring to the world, they also knew that dragons would probably never be accepted by humans, at least not for many, _many _years. So, they gave dragons the power to turn _completely_ human; no scales, wings, or anything.

"And it worked. For the first few centuries of their existence dragons were able to live among humans in peace, as long as they stayed in their human form. Or course, they still changed into their original form when needed. But whenever they were around humans, they stayed human as well. The gods were very happy; they were pleased at how well the dragons were living. But, there was one god that wasn't happy with peace. Loki, the God of Mischief, didn't like the idea of powerful creatures such as us living in peace with humans. He had expected violence and chaos to follow our creation. So, one night while everyone was asleep, Loki used his powers to change all of the dragons' human form. He turned them all into half human, half dragon creatures. And so, when morning came and the humans saw what had happen to our form, all of the dragons were forced to confess the truth about what they really were.

"It didn't end well. Not one human was happy about creatures like us living with them, eating their food, or having our hatchlings near their own children. The moment the truth was out there was complete chaos. People betrayed their dragon friends, innocent hatchlings were left for dead, and mothering dragons were left to run with their children while their mates fended off the raging humans. After that dragons could no longer be near or live by any humans, and there was nothing the gods could do to help, because Loki's spell was too permanent to be fixed by them. The dragons had no choice but to live like animals in the wild. Sad from being abandoned, ashamed of how they were now mutated, the dragons stopped using their humanoid form. To this day there are some dragons who go their whole lives without changing their form, or even knowing about it. But despite everything, the gods still have hope. They still believe that some day, the humans will change and will soon accept dragons for the great creatures they are, and were always meant to be."

Toothless was finally silent, and he took a deep breath as though he were out of air. He looked up at me, a small grin on his face.

"I know it probably seems silly," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some dragons think so, too. But most of us still believe its true. We want to believe it will, but the prospect of any humans accepting us is a feeble one. I believe the story, but the thought of all humans being okay with-"

But he was cut off as I lunged forward and threw my arms around him, holding him tightly. I couldn't help it. First his story was interesting, then it was fascinating, and then it was heartbreaking. After knowing so much now, and after years of learning to hate something I now cared for, I felt sick to my stomach. And as Toothless finally wrapped his arms around me I knew he understood.

"I believe you," I said quietly. "And I think it's possible for things to change, too."

"…What makes you say that?"

"Well, I'm your friend, aren't I? And I was before you even considered showing me you could shape-shift."

Toothless didn't say anything, but continued to hold me.

"But, why did you tell me?" I asked. "You didn't have to, and everything would've still been fine. Why?"

Toothless sighed. "Because… you trusted me with your secret, and you were scared. So, I figured that if you could trust me with yours, then I could trust you with mine."

I knew he was telling the truth. I didn't even have to look at him to know he was. I believed his word, but there was something different in his voice. Like there was still something he wasn't telling me.

"There's something else, isn't there?" I leaned back and looked up at him. "There's some other reason you changed. Go on, tell me."

Toothless stared at me, eyebrows raised. Then he chuckled slightly, and nodded.

"You can read me like a book," he said. "Yeah, alright, there's one other reason."

"…Well, go on!"

He smirked. "You _really _want to know?"

"Uh, yeah!" I said matter-of-factly. "I mean, I'm gonna find out anyway, right?"

"Yes, actually."

I blinked. _Didn't expect that… _But before I could respond Toothless started leaning forward slightly, and I was so startled I moved back. My hands went back behind me and landed on the ground to keep me from falling. Toothless leaned forward more, and his hands landed on the ground, both of them only an inch from my own. He was now towering over me, looking even taller then before. I was suddenly starting to feel weird again. Only this time I felt like I was having a minor seizer or something. My face was on fire, my breathing was shallow, and my heart was beating like I had been running for miles. I gulped hard, trying to calm down. It didn't work.

"Wh-what is it?" I stammered, my voice somewhere between afraid and excited.

Toothless smiled. "Mind if I answer that with another question?"

"N-no…"

He then closed his eyes, and his chest expanded as he inhaled, then shrunk as he exhaled. He opened his eyes, and there was something in them that I, for once, could not read.

"Hicca, do you think… Is it possible for a dragon to…fall for a human?"

It was as though all the air disappeared from my lungs. I was completely frozen, but my heart was now going crazy. I felt like even the slightest movement would ruin this, and I would wake up from this crazy dream. _This can't be real… Did he really just say…_

"I-I… I don't know…"

Toothless smiled, his expression suddenly very soft and sweet. He lifted his left hand up to my face, and moved my bangs over until they were tucked behind my right ear. I expected him to then lower it, but he didn't move. His fingers smoothed against my skin, and I felt his hand cup my cheek.

"Well, I do," he breathed. "Because I already did."

Before I could respond he had already started leaning forward, moving my head up as well. I felt something warm close on my left and, and I realized Toothless was holding it. I didn't know what to do, but I definitely didn't want him to stop. So, not knowing what else to do, I closed my eyes and waited for something. I was just able to smell the sent of surprisingly fresh breath before something smooth pressed against my lips.

If I was able to, I probably would have gasped, but there was something blocking my way. I was brave enough to open one of my eyes ever so slightly, but it was enough see. And what I saw, I was _not _ready for. Toothless was…kissing me… He was actually _kissing me_! _Oh, sweet Thor! What do I do?! _But as soon as I asked myself this Toothless' lips started to move against my own. It was as though something just suddenly sparked inside me, and all thought was completely wiped from my mind. My head was completely blank, except for a tiny voice telling me to kiss him back. I obeyed without question, and I moved my lips with his. This was the first time I had ever been kissed or had ever kissed back, and…it was…_wonderful._ _Ooh_, no words could describe what I was feeling, but it was pure, undeniable bliss. That was all I could think of.

Hours seemed to pass by before the need for air finally caught up to me, and I had to push on Toothless' chest slightly before I was released. The second my lips were free I opened them and nearly gasped for air. I looked up and was a little glad to see I wasn't alone. Toothless was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling slightly. I swallowed as he looked at me, and he smiled softly. And I, feeling more happy now then ever, smiled right back up at him.

* * *

"Thanks for leaving the stall open for a bit, Gobber. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Hicca. Oh, and by the way, next time yah want tah go on a little camp trip in the forest, yah let me know first. Got it?"

"Sure thing! I'll remember!"

Gobber waved as he turned and walked away, I waved slightly, grabbing the door from behind me. I turned as I opened the door. I quickly went in, shut the door, and looked around. Still no one, just its suppose to be. I took in a deep breath and let out a slow, airy sight, a smiled widening on my face. I leaned up and started to walk lazily around the room. Not because I was tired or anything, but because I felt…light. Very light. And also _very _happy. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was ever this happy. This had to be one of the best days of my life, and I didn't have a lot of those.

As I walked to my desk I glanced over at the slab of metal hanging on the wall, and it was clear enough for me to see my reflection. I could see my whole face, still holding the biggest smile I ever had in my life. Now that I could see myself, I realized that I actually looked good with a smile like that. In fact, I almost looked…pretty. That says a lot, since I never thought of myself as being pretty. Ever. I was short and boney compared to the rest of the village, who were all tall, big, and very muscular. My hair was unusually shorter than any of the other girls', but it was still long enough for the small, simple braid I always had. And my bangs weren't held back, but hung at an angle at the right side. Plus, other girls all had fair, clear skin and gorgeous doe eyes, whose colors were usually dark blue or brown. Mine were slightly rounder than normal, and were a bright, forest green, and my skin was slightly tanned and covered in freckles. I looked closely at my reflection, moving the ends of my bangs behind my ear. For years I had always thought these things were major flaws that made me even less perfect than I already was. That these things made me more of what I didn't like to be; a hiccup. But now, seeing myself like this- it was like I was seeing myself for the very first time. Yes, I was a hiccup, but in that moment, for some reason, I didn't care anymore. All I could see was the smart, happy young girl I grew into. And, I looked…beautiful.

It was this thought that kept the smile on my face as I finally moved. I sat down at my desk, looking down at a picture of Toothless in my sketchbook. I chuckled. _Well, whatever he sees in me, he must really like it._ I sighed, leaning my head down on the surface of the wooden desk, thinking. What would happen now, after tonight? Would Toothless treat me differently? Or would he act the same way that he had been? Did he kiss me because he really liked me? Or was it just an in-the-moment sort of thing? _Maybe I should ask him…_

"Hicca."

My head snapped up and I gasped. My dad was standing in the doorway, looking down at me. At once I jumped to my feet and my hand scrambled around, gathering all the pictures of Toothless to hid them from sight.

"Dad! Y-you're back!" I stuttered. "Uh, Gobber's not here, so…"

"I know," my dad grunted as he roughly pushed himself through the door. "I came looking for you."

"Y-you did?" I asked, closing my sketchbook.

"You've been keeping secrets."

"I, uh… I-I have?"

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"

"I… I-I don't know what you're-"

"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."

"Oh?"

"So," my dad took another step towards me. "Lets talk… about that dragon."

All the feeling seemed to have left my body in that moment. I nearly fell on the ground and I caught myself on my desk, but my book slid and fell to the floor. _He knows about Toothless… But how? Did he see him? Oh gods, did he see us kiss?!_

"Oh gods… Dad, I'm so sorry. I swear, I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how…"

Before I could even finish my dad reared his head back and roared with laughter. I blinked, staring at him. Then I calmed down slightly as I laughed nervously.

"You're not…upset?"

"What?! I was _hoping _for this!"

"Uhh, you were?" I asked, feeling confused. _We're talking about the same thing, right?_

"And believe me, it only gets better!" my dad beamed. "Just wait 'til you spill a Nadders' guts for the first time! And mount your first Gronkle head on a spear- What a _feelin'_!"

_Ooh, I get it…_ I sighed slightly, relieved he didn't know about Toothless. Then suddenly he shoved me backwards(probably playfully) and I fell back into a barrel. I grunted as I tried to lift myself out, but my dad just laughed.

"HA! You really had me going there, lass!" he bellowed. "All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen- Odin, it was rough, I almost gave up on you…"

_Wow. Ouch._

"…And all the while you were holding out on me! Oh, Thor, ole mighty!" he pulled up a chair and sat in front of me. "With you doing so well in the ring… we finally have something to talk about."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. Then I closed it, and cleared my throat.

"Well, there's not much to tell," I said, rubbing my arm. "It's just, well… it's…"

But I couldn't say anything else. My dad noticed nothing, and moved his chair up more, a brilliant smile on his face. Okay, now this was getting really weird. Me and my dad had never been on good speaking terms about anything, and whenever he did talk… Well, I don't think I need to do another demonstration. Now, one of the few things I wanted in this world was to have at least one good conversation with my dad. But now that he apparently wanted to talk, his subject was the last thing I wanted to talk about. There was quite a few things I wanted to say, but I still didn't know how to say them. _Hey dad, everything I've done in the ring for the pass two months has been a bunch of tricks I leaned while befriending a dragon. Oh, and by the way, he kissed me, so I'm pretty sure I'm dating him now, too. _Yeah, that would end _perfectly_.

"Oh, I, uh… I brought you something."

I blinked as I snapped out of my thoughts. My dad reached behind him and pulled out a large Viking helmet. He held it out to me.

"To keep you safe in the ring."

I stared for a moment before slowly lifting my hands to grab it. It looked to be just my size, with large, curved horns on each side.

"Thanks, dad," I said, placing my hand on the top.

"Aye, your mother would've wanted you to have it," he added. "It's half of her breastplate."

_Ew, ew, ew, ew, EWW! _I grimaced slightly as I quickly removed my hand, trying very hard not to look too disgusted. My dad nodded, pointing to his own helmet on his head.

"Matching set. Keeps her- keeps her close, yah know?" he looked up at me seriously. "Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."

_Okay… Awkward…_ I placed the helmet on my desk and folded my hands together. I fiddled with my fingers, trying to think of what to say or do. Then, having no other options, I stretched my arms out and let out a long, clearly fake yawn.

"Wow, I should really get to bed, right about now…"

"Yes! Uh- Good talk!"

"Uh-huh. I'll see you at the house, thanks for stopping by…"

"Hope you like the hat…"

"Thanks for the, uh…breast hat," but I muttered that last part so he couldn't hear it.

My dad turned to look at me as he walked outside. "Well, uh… Good night!"

I wave slightly as he squeezed himself through the door. I turned around and sighed stressfully. _Things just got a whole lot harder…_

* * *

It's been a whole week since the day my dad came back. I was in the ring again, only this time, things were different. Today was the last test in training; the one that would decide who would be the one to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. Of course, I didn't want any of that, so I was doing my best to stay out of sight and away from the dragon(today's test was with the Gronkle). Right now, I was currently hiding behind a small wooden board, hiding from the dragon. Suddenly Austen fell beside me, panting slightly. He turned and when he saw me he grabbed my shield and pulled me forward roughly.

"Stay out of my way!" he snapped. "I'm wining this thing."

"Please! By all means…"

He let go of my shield and ran off. I rolled my eyes as I stood up from my hiding spot. I turned to look up at the huge crowed gathered around the outside of the gates. My dad was standing there, smiling at me. I straightened the helmet on my head, trying to smile up at him, but I knew it probably looked forced. I groaned as I slowly turned around. The Gronkle was staring right at me from the other side of the ring. It gave a low growl as it started charging towards me. I took several steps back, not sure what to do.

'Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you,' she said calmly. 'Just nudge me with your shield when I get up there.'

I raised my brow in confusion, but I had no time to argue. The dragon was coming in faster and faster, looking like it was going to attack me. But, for some reason, I trusted her word. So, when she slowed down so she was right up to me, I nudged her with my shield; not hard enough to hurt, but enough to look convincing. The second I touched her she gave a loud growl and then fell on her side, looking as though I had knocked her out. I blinked and stared, so shocked that I had dropped my shield and my ax, and when I ran my fingers through my hair I knocked off my helmet. I saw someone standing in front of me from the corner of my eye and glanced up. Austen was standing there, his ax in the air, and a defeated look on his face. I spluttered, waving my hands around frantically, and yet, no words were said. Suddenly Austen's face fell into a look of rage.

"NO! NO, SON OF A HALF-TROLL, RAT-EATING, MUNGE BUCKET!"

I stared in disbelief. Who knew Austen had could cuss like a sailor. I mean, I swear from time to time, but…_damn! _I rolled my eyes as I glanced around, looking for an escape route. _Maybe if I go this way…_

"So, later…" I said, not really talking to anybody.

But just as I started walking something hooked under my collar(Again? _Really_?!) and hoist me up. It was Gobber.

"Uh-uh, not so fast," he said as he set me down.

"Uh, I'm kinda late for-"

"WHAT?!" Austen hissed angrily as he lifted his ax so it was up to my throat. "Late for _what_, exactly?!"

_Gods! This guy's _crazy_! I can't believe I used to actually like him._

"Okay, quiet down!" I heard my dad call out. "The elder has decided."

Gobber walked up and stood between me and Austen(thank Thor, he looked like he was ready to _kill_ me!). He held up his hooked hand, gesturing to Austen. The elder shook her head, and the crowed made a slightly disappointing sound. Slowly, Gobber lifted his normal hand and pointed down at me. The elder smiled, and nodded. There was instant reaction as the whole crowd started cheering and clapping. I winced. Then I glanced over at Austen, and I swear to Odin, if looks could kill…

"You've done it! You've don it, Hicca!" Gobber cheered. "You get to kill the dragon!"

_Oh no… No, please, no! _Suddenly all the other teen ran up to me, clapping and cheering along with the rest of the village. Snotlout slapped my back, the Twins cheered around me, and Fishlegs even picked me up and placed me right on his shoulder.

"That's my girl!" I heard my dad shout happily.

Trying not to grimace I forced up a smile, raising my fist in the air as Fishlegs led me away with the other teens.

"Yeah! Yes, I can't wait!" I said, and I could practically feel my sarcasm radiating off me. "Yes, I am… so…"

* * *

**So what? SO WHAT? Haha, kidding! We all know what happens next. Or do we...? You're just going to have to find out next time. PEACE!**


	12. The Nest

**Here it is! Chapter 12! I know you want it, and you know i have it! So go ahead and read!**

* * *

Ch. 12  
The Nest

"Leaving. We're leaving," I lifted my head as I called out. "Let's pack up! Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation…forever."

I looked all around the cove, looking for Toothless. But he was nowhere in sight. I set my large basket down on the ground next to a rock, thinking of what to do. I thought for a moment, then I got an idea. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard.

_Umm, Toothless? You there, bud?_

At first nothing happened. Then from a distance I heard a loud yawn that sounded like a bit like a growl.

'Mm… Hey, Hicca.'

_You were sleeping again, weren't you?_

'No!' a short pause. '…Maybe.'

I giggled. _Well, when you feel up to it, I need you to come out here. We need to talk…_

'Alright…' another yawn. 'F-five more minutes…'

I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly. But the smile faded almost as soon as it had come. I walked over and kneeled in front of my basket. I opened the lid, checking to make sure everything I needed was in there. _This should be enough to help me survive, at least for a while…_ I sighed as I stood up, adjusting the waist of my harness.

"Ah, man…"

_Slink! _The sound of stone sliding against metal met my ears and my head snapped up. There, sitting on the rock, sharpening his ax with a large stone, was Austen. I yelped as I staggered back.

"Ah! What the- A-Austen?!" I shook my head. "Um- uhh… wh-what are you doing here?"

"I wanna know what's goin' on," he dropped his stone and hopped of the rock. "No one just gets as good as you do. _Especially_, you. Now, start talking."

"I…I-I, uh…"

"Are you training with someone?"

"Wha- Training? N-no…"

"It better not involve _this_!"

Austen grabbed me roughly by my harness, glaring down at it in slight confusion. I raised my hands up in some form of defense, trying to stay calm.

"Listen, I know this looks really bad, but… You see, uh…"

Austen glanced behind me and gasped, tossing me on the ground. I sat up and glared at him. He was standing straight, ax raised slightly, staring intently at something in the distanced. At that point I heard Toothless' voice.

'Hicca, who is that?'

I gasped slightly. No, this can't be happening! _Toothless, go hide! _I jumped up to my feet and quickly stood in front of Austen.

"Ah, y-you're right! You're right, you're right. I'm through with the lies. You see, I- I've been making…_outfits_!" I smiled convincingly, grabbing his hand and putting it on my shoulder. "So, yah got me, it's time everyone knew. Drag me back, take me home. Here we go-"

Austen gave an irritated grunt as he grabbed my hand and pulled it back. I yelled as my wrist was bent back painfully, making a loud cracking sound.

"OW! Why would you do that?!" I yelled at him.

'Hicca, what is he doing?!' Toothless asked, sounding a little scared.

But I couldn't answer him, not even in my head. Then Austen reached his hand up and smacked my head hard.

"Hey-"

"That's for the lies!"

Then he reared his leg back and brought it up hard. His foot connected with my shin, and pain struck all through it.

"AH!"

"And _that's_…for everything else!"

I glared up at him, still hopping on one foot as I held my painful leg. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but I was cut off as I heard a growl from behind me.

"Oh, man…"

Austen took one step forward, staring off behind me. Then he gasped in horror.

"Get down!"

Before I could do anything he lunged at me and pushed me to the ground. I grunted as the wind was knocked out of me. Suddenly there was a loud, raging roar.

'DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!'

_Oh, crap!_

"Run! RUN!"

Austen leaped up to feet, raising his ax up as he took a defensive stance. I knew what was coming, and I wasn't going to let it happen. I quickly pushed myself up to my feet just as Toothless leap up over the rock, his jaws open, as though about to fire.

"NO!"

I jumped forward, grabbing the handle of Austen's ax just as he started to swing it forward. I managed to push him backwards and he fell on his back. I snatched his ax out of his hand and threw it far away before turning around. Toothless was still charging forward, roaring with anger. I ran up to him, holding my arms out.

"No, Toothless! Stop-"

'How dare you touch her! HOW DARE YOU!'

"No, bud, it's okay! _It's okay_!" I tried to speak calmly. "He's a friend…"

Toothless growled. 'Don't lie, Hicca! He doesn't deserve your defense!'

"It's not a lie!" I paused. "…Okay, it kinda is. But, don't worry! He's not gonna hurt us. I promise."

Toothless stayed in his stance for a moment, still breathing heavily from his rage. Then, huffing irritably, he finally fell down on his front paws. I sighed with relief. Toothless glared down at Austen, taking a step towards him. I stood between them, holding my hands on the dragons' nose.

'You're lucky she was here to save your skin!' he hissed.

"_Toothless_! I'm so sorry," I said to Austen. "He didn't mean any harm."

'The hell I didn't!'

I glared at him, then looked back at Austen.

"You just scared him, that's all."

"_I _scared _him_?!" Austen stood on his feet, looking a little scared. "Who- the hell- is _him_?"

I gulped. _Now what?_ Taking a deep breath, I took a step away from Toothless and gestured to him.

"Ehh… Austen, this is Toothless," I looked at Toothless. "Toothless, this is Austen."

Toothless glared at Austen, letting out a low, angry hiss.

'Nice to meet you, now get lost!'

Austen stared at Toothless, then at me. A confused and angry glare grew on his face as he took a few steps back. Before I could do more than raise my hand he turned around started running away.

"Da da duh! We're dead!"

I stood there, slumped in defeat. Then I heard shuffling behind me. I turned around and saw Toothless was hobbling away. I spluttered.

"Wow, wow, wow, wow! Where do you think you're going?"

'Back to sleep, thank you very much!'

"Ooh no, you don't!"

I ran up and quickly stood in front of him. He sighed.

'Then what do you propose I do?'

"What _we _can do is stop chatting and go after him."

'What? Why?'

"Because I think we can change his mind. Or at least convince him to keep his mouth shut."

Toothless snorted in disbelief. 'I'm not doing it,' he said stubbornly. 'I want nothing more to do with that jerk.'

I gritted my teeth, my hands clenching into fists. _So, that's how you're gonna be, huh?_

"Oh, you're doing it."

'Or what?'

I smirked, folding my arms. "Or I'll never let you kiss me again."

Toothless blinked, staring at me. I smirked even more. _Well, at least that got his attention. _He then growled slightly, narrowing his eyes.

'You're bluffing.'

"Am I?"

Toothless seemed to have pondered on this thought for a moment, looking around. Then he let out a long sigh, and I grinned. _Mission accomplished. _Toothless then turned to the side and crouched down, raising his wings slightly.

'Let's go, then…'

Resisting the urge to laugh, I nodded in agreement. I ran up to him and quickly hopped onto the saddle. I hooked myself up and opened the tail. I patted his head, letting him know he could go. He lifted his wings up high and pushed us into the air.

* * *

Austen's P.O.V.

I took in long breaths as I continued running through the forest. I had to get back to the village. I had to find the chief and tell him what I saw. _Hicca's hiding a Night Fury in the forest… Hicca's hiding a Night Fury in the forest…_ These words repeated themselves in my head, the tone mixed with anger and confusion. I kept running until I reached a tree trunk that was laying on the forest floor in front of me. I placed my hands on the surface and attempted to jump over it. But before my feet hit the ground something big and oddly scaly grabbed my arm and lifted me up. I yelled as I was brought up higher and higher by whatever was holding me.

"Careful, Toothless!"

_Hicca?!_ Then I heard a low growl, and to my horror I realized it was the dragon that was holding me. _Oh, Great Odin's ghost- this is it! I'm gonna die!_ I yelled in fear as we flew high over the trees of the forest. We turned sharply to the right, starting to lower slightly. When we came close to a very tall tree the dragons' paws released me. I yelped as I fell, but my hand came into contact with a tree branch, and I held on tightly. There was a loud creaking noise as the top of the tree started to bend forward. I glanced up and saw the dragon was crouched on the top. And there, sitting on its back, was…

"_Hicca_!" I yelled. "Get me down from here! _Now_!"

"Austen, please, just let me explain."

"I'm not listening to _anything _you have to say!"

'You will if you want to get down in one piece!'

I blinked. _Who else is here?!_ I looked pass Hicca to see if anyone else was there, but there wasn't. It appeared to be just her. But then… who just spoke?

"Who said that?"

The dragons' eyes then snapped towards me. 'I did, you idiot!'

I inhaled sharply. If I was anymore surprised I probably would've let go of the branch. But instead I just clung on even tighter. After a moment I gulped, and opened my mouth to speak.

"Did…did that thing just talk?" I asked.

"I think you mean 'he'," Hicca said, sounding angry. "Toothless is a 'he', Austen, not an 'it.' And yes, he did speak."

My jaw fell, and I continued to stare at the dragon. It seemed to… _Ugh, screw it!_ _He_ seemed to have noticed, because he glared and growled at me. Hicca lowered her hand to pet the creatures' head, whispering something that sounded like 'please, be nice.' After that the dragon continued to glare at me, but his growling ceased. _How the hell did she do that?!_ I shook my head, trying to calm down.

"Whatever. Look, you need to get me down now!"

Hicca sighed. "Austen, I promise, I will get you down safely. But you have to let me speak-"

"I don't want to hear it, Hicca!" I shouted.

"Fine! I won't speak!" she said quickly, then calmly added, "Just…let me _show_ you."

I glared at her for a moment, then I closed my eyes and turned my head away, thinking of the situation. _There's no way I'm considering this. I can't do this…_

"Austen, please…"

_No! Don't beg to me like that!_ I sighed. I could hear the importance in her voice- she really wanted this. It's funny. We've never talked at all for years, and now she was asking me to do something completely crazy. No, not just crazy; it was worthy of being name as an act of treason. But, then again, if I don't there's still a chance I could fall and… Ahem, anyway… I looked up at Hicca, and she was still looking at me hopefully. I gritted my teeth, grumbling as I started to pull myself up, holding the branch tightly. I managed to lift a foot up, pushed, and brought my other foot on the branch so I was now crouching on top of it. I looked up to see Hicca was grinning slightly, her hand held out to me. I paused for a moment, staring at it in disbelief before I started to reach for it. Then the dragon growled, making me stop.

'I'm warning you,' he said in a dangerous voice. 'If you do _anything_ else to hurt her, I swear to the gods, I will buck you off so fast you won't have time to blink.'

"Toothless!"

'I mean it, Hicca!'

I gulped, hesitating for a moment. Then I sighed.

"Don't worry," I said lowly. "I don't have any intensions of hurting her."

The dragon narrowed his eyes, still glaring at me. It was like he was trying to see if I was lying. After a few moments he huffed, then turned his head away.

'…Get on, then,'

I let out the small breath I had been holding, and looked up. Hicca was still looking at me, her hand held out. I didn't need her help, but I think I've been mean enough for one day. So I reached up, grabbed her wrist, and pulled myself up. I lifted my other hand, grabbed the edge of the saddle and pulled. I swung my leg over and sat down, quickly let go of her wrist as I held my arms out.

"Alright, I'm on. Now get me down."

Hicca nodded. "Toothless, down. Gently…"

The dragon opened his large, bat-like wings out to their full length. The wind blew up under them, and it made us rise a little. Hicca turned to grin at me.

"See?" she said. "Nothing to be afraid of."

But before I could do more than open my mouth the dragon lifted his wings and snapped them down. Instantly we were pushed up into the air with such force that I nearly slid off. As we went higher and higher I kept sliding down until I reached forward and grabbed Hicca's shoulders.

"Toothless! No!" Hicca yelled. "What is wrong with you?! Bad dragon!"

'This is what happens when you make a Night Fury mad!' the dragon laughed loudly.

I yelled in terror. Having no terror options I pulled myself up and wrapped my arms tightly around Hicca's shoulders. She yelped in surprise, but didn't push me away.

"I-I'm really sorry," she called over her shoulder. "He's usually not like this."

I stared at her in disbelief. Then the dragon folded his wings slightly and started leaning to the right.

"Oh, no…" Hicca moaned.

I felt my mouth open in a long, frightened yell as we descended lower and lower towards the ocean. The dragon straightened a little and dove right for the water. He leaned from side to side, diving halfway through the surface, nearly letting the water absorb us.

"Toothless, what are you doing? We need him to like us!" Hicca yelled after the last dive.

'I'll stop as soon as he apologizes!' the dragon yelled.

"Fine!" Hicca turned to look at me. "Say you're sorry for trying to kill him."

"Excuse me?!" I snapped.

'That's not what I meant!'

Hicca turned her head back. "What?"

'I want him to apologize for hurting you!'

"Are you kidding me?!" Hicca yelled.

The dragon responded with a snort. Then he shot up high in the air and started spinning around faster and faster. I held Hicca's shoulders tighter, clinging to her for dear life.

"And now the spinning," Hicca sighed, sounding defeated. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

That comment probably would have been funny if the current situation wasn't so serious. The dragon growled in an almost amused sort of way. He stopped spinning for a moment before changing his course and spinning down instead. I let out a scared and angry yell through my gritted teeth, and I buried my head in Hicca's back.

"Alright! I'm sorry!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "I'm so, _so _sorry! Just make him stop!"

Just a second after these words left my mouth, it felt like time had paused. The spinning had finally stopped, as did the diving, and everything was suddenly calm. I could feel the cool breeze blowing against my face instead of beating hardly at it as it had done previously.

"Um, Austen?" Hicca said gently. "You can open your eyes now."

I swallowed hard, feeling slightly nervous. Then slowly my eyes fluttered open, and I discovered my vision to be blurred by what looked like clouds. _Wait, clouds?_ I blinked a few times and the clouds parted slightly so I could see. I inhaled slowly at the sight that met my eyes. We were no longer by the ocean, but now high up in the sky, and as I looked up I saw we were almost right against the clouds. I looked up at them, and blinked. They were huge, tinted slightly gold from the sunlight, and looked…_What's a good word for it? …Ah, peaceful._ Peaceful they looked indeed, and as I continued to look at them I had the sudden urge to reach up and grab them. I hesitated for a single second, then I slowly reached my arm up, my hand disappearing into the cloud.

_Wow…_ The feeling of the wind against my hand as it cut through the clouds was gentle and nice. I stared as I felt my mouth widen in a smile. Strangely enough, my face fell a little strained. It made me wonder when the last time I smiled was. I didn't hesitate to lift my other arm for my hand to join the other in the clouds. I let out a small, slightly laugh, leaning back as closed my eyes and I waved my arms slightly.

"Having fun?"

I opened my eyes and leaned back up. Hicca was looking over her shoulder at me, and I was surprised to see her smiling. I was startled, because I had never seen Hicca smile, at least not like that. It wasn't forced or sarcastic in any way. It seemed bright and happy. And it made her look so…_wow_. _I guess she is a little pretty sometimes… _I didn't respond, but I smiled and gave a small nod. Hicca smiled at me for a second before turning around to face the front.

All too soon, as though in the blink of an eye, it was nighttime. The flight was just as beautiful at night as it was during the day. The puffy clouds were now tinted with blue from the moonlight, and the stars were so big and bright that they looked close enough to touch. Then the clouds started to thin, and I looked down in time to see a few golden lights below. When the clouds cleared I nearly gasped. We were flying right above the village, and what a sight it was. The whole island nearly surrounded by night, the moonlight shining on the village, and the little golden light scattered over it all; it all looked amazing. _I never thought the village could look this…beautiful._

'Yeah, it's pretty nice, huh?'

I blinked, but didn't look around. That had to be Toothless' voice. _Wait, did I just call him 'Toothless?'_ I was surprised, but at the same time I didn't mind. I glanced down and saw that said dragon was looking back at me. I could have sworn I saw a small smile on his scaly face.

'No hard feelings?' he asked.

For some reason I couldn't help but smile at him. I nodded, one of my hands resting on Hicca's shoulder.

"None at all."

Hicca giggled. "Nice to see you two finally getting along."

I thought I heard Toothless chuckle. Then he turned around, away from Berk, and started flying in the opposite direction. I sighed as I looked around at the beautiful, starry night sky.

"Alright, I admit it," I said finally. "This is pretty cool."

Hicca turned her head towards me slightly. "Just cool?"

I chuckled. "Okay, it's more than cool. …Its amazing," I looked down at Toothless. "He's amazing."

I leaned forward a little and lowered my hand, patting him gently. Toothless glanced back at me, smiling a little.

'Your not too bad yourself,' he said. 'When you're not being a jerk, that is.'

I chuckled.

* * *

Toothless' P.O.V.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little with the human boy. What was his name again? _…Ah, yes, Austen._ He wasn't that bad, I suppose. Was I still a bit upset at the way he hurt Hicca earlier? Definitely. But he apologized, and that was more than enough for me. At least for now.

"So, what now?" I heard Austen say.

To this I heard Hicca sigh, almost stressfully. I glanced up at her, feeling a little concerned. What was wrong? What did Austen know that I didn't?

"Hicca, your final exam is tomorrow," Austen continued, sounding serious. "You know your gonna have to kill a-"

But I never heard his next words. At that second everything stopped. The breeze in my ears, the rushing water, and the two other teens whispers- it all stopped. All I could hear was a loud, constant, overpowering ringing that was sounding all through my head. A strange sensation had taken over my body, making me tense up for a moment. _Oh no, I've gone to far! I gotta turn back!_

But then I heard it. A voice- so awful, so strange, so evil that it made the skin under my scales crawl.

"_Come to me, my minions… come and feed me…"_

Before I could stop myself I took a sharp turn and started flying quickly through the dark clouds.

"Toothless, what's happening?"

I ignored Hicca. I couldn't help it. I could barely do anything else under this condition. All I could do was continue on my current destination. I continued to fly quickly through the clouds, not caring about what else would be in my way. At least I didn't until a wild Monstrous Nightmare popped out of no where. It growled at me, but otherwise didn't pay me any attention.

"Get down!" I heard Hicca hiss.

_Well, at least she's thinking straight right now. _But that was the only comfort I had in this situation. Within seconds we were surrounded by dragons; Nadders, Nightmares, Gronkles, even Terrors, all carrying some kind of livestock in their clutches.

"What's going on?" Austen asked.

"I don't know. Toothless," Hicca placed her hand on my head. "You gotta get us out of here, bud."

'Quiet!' I snapped, shaking her hand off. 'Just…stay down…keep your mouths shut.'

I was trying not to be awful to her, but in this condition I couldn't think straight, so I had to snap at her to make her understand. She seemed to have done so, because she whispered for Austen to stay down and stay quiet. A few minutes passed with silence, other than the overpowering ringing in my head, that is.

"It looks like their hauling in their kill," Hicca whispered.

"Uh, and that makes us what, exactly?" Austen asked.

I sighed. 'Don't…worry…' I managed to choke out. 'We'll…be out soon… Just stay down…'

I felt Hicca rub my head gently with her fingers, but other than that I got no other response. And even if I had, I probably wouldn't have heard it over the noises in my head.

"_Hurry, you pathetic reptiles… I'm hungry…"_

_Damn it, shut up!_ But even this thought couldn't drown out the horrible voice in my head. I continued on, heading closer and closer to the destination I was forced to go to. I followed on with the hundreds of other dragons flying around me until finally we were there. A tall, hideous-looking island, with a giant, slightly red-glowing rock that seemed to grow up from the ground; the dragons nest. I speed up slightly and went through a large hole in the middle of the rock, leading to a red glowing inside. Hicca and Austen both gasped, but otherwise did their best to stay quiet. I finally reached the other side of the entrance, and into the large area. Everywhere you looked there were dragons, all carrying dead animal carcasses, and all dropping them into the large hole that resided in the middle.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this," Hicca whispered.

I ignored her and looked around, desperately trying to find a spot to land and hide. Now that I was actually here the noise in my head had finally stopped. Its purpose was to force us into the island with food, not much else. Soon enough I found a good empty spot for me to land on. I quickly changed my course towards it and headed straight for it. I landed down and quickly hid behind a large rock, but I was hidden enough for us to look around at what was going on without being seen.

"Well, it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole," Hicca said, almost amusingly.

"They're not eating any of it…" Austen pointed out.

At that point our eyes snapped up as a tiny Gronkle floated up, almost staggering over the large whole. He was all alone. He shook his head a little, grumbled, then opened his jaws, letting his tongue flop out. On it was a small, very poor looking fish(although one wouldn't really call it a fish at all). It slide off the dragons large tongue and fell down into the whole. He started to scratch his ear, but then came an angry growl.

"_You call that food! You worthless dragon!"_

Suddenly the Gronkle looked very frightened. He leaned up and started to fly away. But suddenly, the large goriest head of what looked like a dragon came up, opened its horrible jaws, and closed them on the Gronkle, swallowing him whole. _It's her…_ Cries and roars came from everywhere as all the rest of the dragons fell back, hiding behind the rocks. Hicca and Austen both gasped at the sight, and I couldn't blame them. It was not the first time I had seen something like this happen. I've been stuck in this nest for ten years, and through out that whole time I've seen hundreds of dragons get eaten because they could live up to the expectations of that…_thing_. But that didn't make it any easier.

"What the hell is that?" Austen breathed.

'The Red Death…' I said lowly.

_This has gotten even worse, _I thought timidly. _I can't stay here, I gotta get them out. Now!_

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one thinking this. Hicca patted my head, and when she spoke her voice was low and urgent.

"Alright bud, we gotta get out of here."

'I know.'

At that point, to my horror, I saw the Red Death's gaze shift slightly, then land right on me. I froze, praying that she did not see me. But, it seemed my prayers would be left unanswered.

"_Night Fury! You've brought humans here? HOW DARE YOU!"_

"Now!" Hicca said, more urgently.

Without even responding I lifted my wings and snapped them down. I was just able to lift off and get out of the way before the Red Death snapped her jaws at me, aiming to eat me like she did with the Gronkle. _No! Not today! _If she had wanted to eat me she should have done it before now, but now I was not going to let that happen. Not as long as Hicca is on my back. I used all the power I had to fly higher and faster, desperate to get to the entrance. I could hear the Red Death roaring and cursing behind me but I ignored her. _You'll not have me today, you monster,_ I thought bitterly. _Not now… not ever!_

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

"No no, it totally make sense!" Austen said as we finally landed in the cove. "It's like a giant beehive; they're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them."

He was right. It was that dragon that was making all the other dragons raid us and steal our food for all these years. Now that I had seen all of that, the reason for the raids being ten times worse then they used to made complete sense. I unhooked myself as Austen jumped off.

"Come on! We have to tell your dad."

_What?! No, bad idea! BAD IDEA!_

"No!" I ran up and stopped in front of him. "No, Austen, we can't yet. If we do he'll…he'll kill Toothless."

"But Hicca-"

"He will, Austen! You know how stubborn my dad is, he'll never listen to me. We have to think this through, and carefully."

I turned around, starting to walk back to Toothless.

"Hicca, we just discovered the dragons' nest," Austen said airily. "The very thing we've been searching for since Vikings first sailed here, and you wanna keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?!"

I stopped in my tracks, my whole body freezing for a moment. I took a deep breath, and turned to face Austen.

"Yes."

Austen blinked, staring at me.

"Toothless isn't a pet, Austen," I said sternly. "He's my friend; the best and only friend I've ever had. He cares about me more than my own father does, and I care about him just as much," I paused. "And I'm pretty sure I care for him as more than a friend… and I'm not ever gonna let anyone hurt him. So, to be honest, I don't really care what you think. I'm keeping my mouth shut."

I folded my arms, my mind feeling completely set. Austen stared, his mouth slightly open. He seemed lost for words. I sighed, turning away slightly.

"…I didn't mean anything," Austen said finally. "Really, I didn't. It's just… I didn't know how important he was to you."

"Yeah, well…now you do."

Austen rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay… So, what are you gonna do?"

"…I don't know," I sighed. "Just…just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

"Okay…"

We both stood their in silence, not sure what to say. Then Austen brought his fist up and punched my shoulder. It didn't hurt, but it was surprising.

"That's for kidnapping me," he said simply.

I raised my eyebrow. _Wha…? _Then I heard Toothless snort from behind me, and I turned to him and shrugged. _Was that necessary?_

'Well, technically, it _was_ kidnap.'

I rolled my eyes as I turned back towards Austen. He moved his bangs back, looking like he was holding something back. Then he grabbed my shoulders, paused, and pulled me into his chest. It took me a minute to realize that he was hugging me. I blinked for a moment, not sure what to do. I slowly lifted my arms up until they were lightly wrapped around his back.

"And…this?" I asked unsurely.

"For…for everything else…" Austen sighed. "And… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you for all this time. I guess…I never really knew you as well as I thought…"

I didn't know what to say. I felt my hands press more on his back as he held my shoulders tighter. I sighed.

"It's okay…" I said gently. "I forgive you…"

Austen sighed, and when he finally backed up he had a small smile on his face. I grinned a little, too. _You know what? He looks good with a smile. _He nodded, and let his arms slide and fall from my shoulders. I grinned more, and gave a small nod. Austen turned slightly and looked like he was about to leave, but he stopped. His hands clenched into fists, his face looking a little nervous. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong but I stopped when he turned and grabbed my shoulder with his hand. He hesitated, then quickly leaned forward and I felt him press his lips to my forehead. Before I could even comprehend what he was doing he pulled away, then quickly turned and ran off. I blinked, staring after him as he crawled up the rocks and ran through the cave entrance. _Did he just…kiss my head?_ I didn't know what to think. Was I surprised? Yes. But I didn't exactly mind either. I actually liked it when Austen acted nice to me. It reminded me of when we were kids, before he started to ignore me.

My thoughts were interrupted when a soft growl sounded from next to me. I blinked and turned my head to see Toothless standing there, a smug look on his face.

"Oh, what are you looking at?" I snapped at him.

'Oh, nothing,' he said airily. 'Just watching you gaze after the fool who used to be such a jerk to you. That's what you said about him, right?'

"Oh, shut up! You're ridiculous," I turned away, starting to take off my harness. "And by the way, what happened to you being so overprotective?"

'What do you mean?'

"Oh, come on! First time he hits me you try to commit murder. This time he did and you acted like it was _nothing_!"

I threw my arms in the air, looking angry. Toothless rolled his eyes.

'Please, he was just messing around just now. All I'm surprised about is that you're not a little shocked that he kissed you.'

I spluttered as I turned to look at him. He had his brows raised, a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"I have no idea what it was for," I said simply, not looking at him. "But it was just on my forehead. I'm sure it meant nothing. Besides, Austen hasn't been friendly towards me for years now, so I have no idea how he acts around girls who he's friends with."

'Friends? Is that what you humans call them?'

I blinked and turned to stare at Toothless, who had a strange smirk on his face. _Wait a minute… He doesn't think that I still like Austen, does he? _I huffed irritably and folded my arms.

"Now, don't tell me you're jealous?" I asked, smirking a little.

'Pff! Please!' Toothless stood up straight. 'As if a human like him could ever be a match to a dragon like myself!"

I rolled my eyes. _Here he goes again… _Yes, I was used to Toothless always acting like he was superior, and I knew he was only joking when he did. But sometimes I would prefer it if he just kept his mouth shut.

'Besides,' he continued. 'I'm not worried about him.'

"You're not?" I asked, a little surprised.

'Of course not. You told me yourself that you didn't like him that way anymore, and I believe you,' I felt him nudge my side, and he purred slightly. 'And as long as he keeps his hands to himself, I couldn't care less what he thinks. But you might wanna tell _him _that.'

I turned, smiling as I placed my hand on his head. We sat there and gazed at each other for a moment, our eyes locked. Then I sighed as I stood up, taking my harness completely off. I held it in my arms as I scratched my neck.

"Well, um… night."

I turned and started to walk away. Toothless didn't say anything, but I thought I heard some shifting noises coming from him. I ignored him, and continued walking, for some reason wanting to get out of there.

"Wait!"

At that point I felt something grab my wrist; a human hand. I whipped my head around and saw it was Toothless, and he was in his humanoid form. He was looking down at me, a strong gaze held in his eyes. I slowly turned to face him completely.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There was something Austen said earlier," said Toothless. "Something about tomorrow, saying you had to…kill something…"

My body tensed up, and my breath caught in my throat. He did hear us talking! _I'm gonna kill Austen! Him _and_ his big mouth!_ I swallowed, and hung my head.

"Today was the last test in dragon training," I said, and my voice was faint. "And I passed it. Because of that, I have to…have to…"

I bit my tongue hard, unable to speak. Toothless lifted his hand up under my chin, and pushed my face up to look at him.

"Say it."

I gulped. "…I have to kill a dragon."

Toothless blinked, his mouth falling open. I couldn't tell if he was surprised, sad or angry, and I didn't want to know. I turned my head away, not wanting to look at him. This is worse than how I felt the night I told him about my training. _Please don't hate me, please don't hate me, please…_ I felt his hand move from under my chin up against my cheek as he turned my head back. I looked up at him, and his eyes were pitying.

"Oh Hicca, I'm so sorry…"

And without another word he pulled me into his chest and I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around him and hug him back tightly. I buried my face in his chest, and before I could stop myself I had started to cry. Everything that had happened all week was like a living nightmare, all of it leading up to tomorrow when I would be forced into that ring and forced to fight that dragon. It was the last thing on earth I wanted to do, but what choice did I have? What else could I do? I sniffled and sobbed on Toothless' shoulder, once again hating myself for being like this around him. I was calmed slightly when I felt his hand come up and smooth down the back of my head. Then he sighed.

"Hicca, look at me."

I sniffed a little before leaning back enough to look at Toothless. He had an understanding, but still stern look on his face.

"Now, you listen to me, and you listen good," he said. "Those people cannot force you to do anything you don't want to."

"But-"

"No buts. They can make you go into that ring, and they can put a sword in your hands, but they cannot make you use it. Now, who's going to be the only one in that ring?"

I gulped. "M-me."

"And who's in control of what you do while you're in that ring."

"Me."

"That's right. You," Toothless nodded. "Only you can control what you say or do. They can't make you fight or kill anything that you don't want to. You can do anything while you're in that ring, and they can't stop you. You don't have to kill anything. You can just go in there and flat out say "I refuse," if you want to. So," he moved a piece of hair out of my face. "Only one question; What are you going to do?"

I blinked, staring up at Toothless. Despite me still feeling a little hopeless, his words made complete sense. No one said that I had to kill the dragon when I went in the ring. That's just what they were expecting me to do. I could do anything in there. No one else is going to be in there except for me. And I knew what I had to do.

"I don't know exactly how I'm going to do it," I said finally. "But I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm gonna stop this. And not just the exam or the training. I mean…everything. I can't keep living in Berk the way it is anymore. I can't keep living in this war… I have to end it. I need to show them that dragons are good, and we don't have to kill them ever again," I smiled up at him. "And we can live in peace with them again, just like we did years ago."

At this point Toothless had stopped smiling, and was now practically beaming down at me, his pearly-white(surprisingly human) teeth all showing. He just looked so happy and thrilled it was almost breathtaking. Then I felt his hand come up to cup my cheek, this thumb rubbing against my cheekbone.

"That's my girl," he whispered softly.

I felt my face blush a little, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before. I had a feeling I knew what was coming. Sure enough, after his other hand came up to grab my waist Toothless leaned forward and quickly pressed his lips to my own. I didn't hesitate to close my eyes and kiss him back. It was the second time I had ever been kissed or kissed back, and I liked it just as much as the first time. _Man, he's a good kisser, _I thought dreamily. _I could get used to this…_

* * *

**Mmmhm, i bet you could get used to it Hicca. ;) Anywho! I'm sorry that it took a while for this chapter to come. I feel like it took longer than the others for some reason. But the next one should be up sooner. I'll see yall then!**


	13. The Final Exam

**Oooohh! Look at this! Already got the next chapter, do i? Well, it's all for you, my dearies! I hope you like it...!**

* * *

Ch. 13  
The Final Exam

I stood still, taking in deep breaths as I fiddled with my helmet held under my arm. I was standing just in front of the gate of the arena, waiting to be let in. The sounds of people talking everywhere filled my ears; if I had to guess, the whole village was here, and they were all cheering and calling my name. That made me even more nervous than I already was. _Please, just try to calm down, _I begged myself. But nothing made me more nervous than what I heard next. The sound of my own father's voice.

"Well, I can show my face in public again!" his voice boomed out, laughing halfheartedly. "If someone told me that in a few short weeks, Hicca would go from, well, being, uhh… 'Hicca,' to placing first in dragon training… Well, I would've tied them to a mass and shipped them off for fear he'd gone mad!"

Despite my situation, I couldn't help but roll my eyes in irritation. _Thanks, dad. Really appreciate it._

"Yes! And you know it!" he continued, and then his voice became set and proud. "But, here we are, and no one is more surprised… or more proud than I am. Today, my girl becomes a Viking. Today, she becomes one of us!"

I sighed, feeling worse than ever. _Great,_ I thought bitterly. _For the first time in my life my dad is proud of me, and it's over something I'm ashamed of. …No no, it's okay, you'll be fine. You can do this… Just take a deep breath, and remember everything that Toothless said… _And as I thought this, Toothless' words seemed to echo inside my head.

"_They can make you go into that ring, and they can put a sword in your hand, but they cannot make you use it…"_

"_Only you can control what you say or do…"_

"_You don't have to kill anything…"_

"Hey."

My head snapped up and I turned. Austen was standing there, looking at me with obvious concern. I grinned a little, and nodded.

"Hey."

He took a step forward. "You okay?"

"Eh…I've been better."

Suddenly the cheers from outside the ring grew louder and more intense. People were cheering my name with excited vigor. It was almost time for me to go out there. My whole body started to feel numb, and I could've sworn my legs were shaking a little. Austen seemed to have noticed this because he walked up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Be careful with that dragon," he warned.

I didn't answer him at first. My eyes were fixed up on the other side of the ring, outside of the gates. My dad was walking by through several people, taking his seat just outside the ring. He had said that he had wanted to get a good look into the ring today. _Perfect…_

"Yeah…it's not the dragon I'm worried about," I said honestly.

"What are you gonna do?" Austen asked me.

"Put an end to this… I have to try," I took in a deep breath, then turned to face Austen. "Austen… I have no idea what's gonna happen out there, so I need you to promise me something."

Austen paused, then nodded. "Name it."

"If anything goes wrong, if something bad happens to me… just make sure they don't find Toothless."

Austen blinked. "Hicca, I-"

"Austen, please, I'm begging you," I grabbed his arm desperately. "I can't let anything happen to Toothless. He can't fly without me, he can't get fish without me, he needs me to help him all the time. If something happens to me then he's gonna be stuck in that cove forever. If something bad happens I need to make sure that nothing will ever happen to him, and that no one will ever find out about him," my grip tightened only slightly. "Please, Austen…I can't loose him…"

The whole time Austen never gave any indication of interrupting me, and he remained silent even now. He stared, not even blinking at me. When I finished, he finally blinked, and a strange look came over his face. Something that looked similar to… understanding? Then, when he finally spoke, he said something I thought I would never, _ever_ hear him say.

"You love him, don't you?"

I gasped slightly, blinking at him. _Did he just say that?_ But before I could respond he continued.

"It's okay, I know," he said. "I saw you two last night, and… I saw him change."

I eyes widened and I felt my jaw fall open. But then Austen grinned, and his hand coming up to grab mine gently.

"I'll make sure he's safe. I promise."

I sighed with relief. "Thank you…"

I patted his hand, then turned and started to walk away. But he held my hand more, keeping me in placed. I turned and looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Hicca…" he paused. "Just…promise me it _won't_ go wrong."

I sighed, then shook my head. "I don't think I can, Austen."

I could see the defeated look on his face, and I felt so sorry that I couldn't give a better answer. But just as Austen opened his mouth to say something else I felt a larger hand come down on my back. I turned my head. It was Gobber.

"It's time, Hicca," he said, smiling proudly. "Knock 'em dead."

I nodded at him, managing a small smile that soon faltered. I swallowed hard, feeling like there was a rock in my throat. I took one step forward, lifting the helmet in my arms and lowering down to my head before taking a small stride into the ring. As I walked I hear the creaking of the doors and the entrance to the ring was shut. _Can't turn back now… _Trying desperately to keep myself from shaking so much, I continued walking, ignoring the 'supportive' calls from the rest of the village. I walked straight to the wooden board that held several shields, as well as an assortment of weapons. Slowly, I picked up a shield and grabbed a small dagger. It didn't have to be big, just big enough so the dragon could see it. I turned and raised my head to look directly at the cage doors. I took a deep breath, once again remembering Toothless' words.

"_You can do anything while you're in that ring, and they can't stop you…"_

"…I'm ready."

My words seemed soft, but they somehow managed to carry around the audience. The sound of creaking metal and wood followed as the large wooden logs keeping the cage closed started to move; one going down into the floor, the other going up above the cage. I bit my tongue, taking a small step back from my spot. I knew what was coming. Sure enough, a few seconds later the doors burst open with a loud _bang_, bits of fire spewing everywhere. I blinked and saw the Monstrous Nightmare was sitting there, completely on fire, roaring with obvious anger. The second it was release it started scrambling around, climbing up the walls and along the top of the arena. It opened its jaws and let out a large blast of fire at the audience, but from what I could hear no one was hurt. Taking another deep breath, I cleared my throat. _Down here, _I thought hardly.

The Nightmare leaned its head back, looking at me with its dark orange-yellow eyes, whose pupils were full on slits. Slowly but surely, it started to crawl down from the top of the ring until it was back on the ground. It stood in front of me, eyeing me for a moment, then slowly started to advance.

'So, you're the human the other dragons are gossiping about,' it said in a deep, darkish male voice. 'They seem to really like you. Always talking about how… _nice _you are. Well, you might have brainwashed them, but you're not fooling me. None of you can be trusted!'

I gulped, slowly taking a few steps back. _I understand, _I thought. _I get that you don't trust humans, but I'm telling you, I have no intensions of hurting you. Look… _I held my arms out- one holding the shield and the other holding the dagger, and dropped both items. From around me I could hear confused gasps and whispers from the villagers, but I ignored them. I had something more important to deal with. The Nightmare blinked at me, but didn't look too phased.

'Alright, I'll admit, that was a brave move,' he said. 'But that doesn't mean I believe you're telling me the truth. This could all be a trick you're playing, just so you can kill me.'

The dragon took a quick step towards me, letting out a low snarl. I held my hands up in an effort to calm him.

"It's okay," I said gently. "It's okay…"

The dragon stopped snarling, then stopped walking. His eyes then moved from my face up to the helmet on my head.

'They say you're the daughter of the chief…'

…_I am._

'Well, how can I be expected to trust you when you're clearly in league with him.'

I swallowed, trying to think. Then it hit me. _I don't want to hurt dragons, ever. And if that's the kind of village my father is running, then he's no chief of mine. _At this the dragon blinked, raising his head slightly.

'What are you saying?' he asked, almost cautiously.

_This…_ I slowly reached my hands up, grabbing the horns of my helmet, then lifted it off my head and lowered it in front of me. Feeling my brows furrow, I looked up at my dad, who was staring down at me in complete confusion. I ignored this, and looked back down at the Nightmare, who was still staring at me.

"…I'm not one of them."

My words were loud and confident, and I knew they carried through out the entire ring. But I wasn't done. I threw my arms to the side, tossing my helmet hard on the ground. It hit with a loud _thud_, rolling a bit before finally stopping. There were gasps and shouts from everyone outside the ring, all shouting things that I couldn't make out. The Nightmare glanced at the helmet, then up at my dad, then finally on me.

'You would betray your own flesh and blood…just so I can trust you?'

I grinned a little, and gave a small nod. Then, slowly and cautiously, I lifted my hand up and out at arms-length. _And I want to prove to them once and for all that they don't have to kill you…ever…_ The dragon glanced down at my hand, a look of curiosity etched on his face. Suddenly I heard my dad's voice.

"Stop the fight."

"No! I need you all to see this," I held my hand out more. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

The Nightmare started to lean in closer, his warm breath hot on my skin as he sniffed my hand. When he was less than an inch from me, he glanced up at me.

'Do you…really mean all that?'

I grinned, starting to lean forward. "Of course I-"

"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!"

At my dad's words there was a sudden loud, piercing ringing that sounded throughout the ring. My dad, out of a fit of rage, had slammed his hammer against the metal bars surrounding the ring. Suddenly the dragons eyes snapped up to me, his pupils once again slits.

'LIAR!'

He then leaned forward and snapped at me. I yelped, retracting my hand back. Before the dragon had a chance to do it again I backed up and broke into a run. I yelled as a sudden blast of fire shot past me, just inches of where I once was.

"Hicca!"

_No, Austen! Stay away! _But I had no time to think as the Nightmare was still chasing me, crawling all along the walls of the ring. Dodging another fire blast, I ran back over to the wood and tried to grab a shield. But the Nightmare came down and crushed the wood, making me drop the shield. I yelled and ran in the opposite direction.

'How dare you trick me, human!'

* * *

Toothless' P.O.V.

The sound of a strange noise echoed in my head as I lay sleeping in the cove. My ears perked up at the sound and, feeling startled, I lifted my head quickly. I looked around, keeping my ears up in the hopes of hearing the noise again. For some reason that sound gave me a bad feeling. I listened carefully, but nothing happened. Perhaps it was just part of a dream? _Hmm, that's funny. I don't remember dreaming…_ But my thoughts were interrupted by the same strange noise again. This time I could hear it better, and what I heard horrified me. It wasn't just any old noise; it was a scream, a scream of terror. Accompanied with that was a second noise… The roar of a Monstrous Nightmare. This made me stand up, looking around at the cove. What was happening? Who was in trouble with a dragon like that? But then I heard the scream again, and this time the sound of it gave me goose bumps all over the skin under my scales. That voice was very familiar…

_Hicca…_

'NO!'

Without hesitating I started scrambling around, running up to the stone walls until I was by the entrance to the cove. I stood up on my back legs and reached up, clawing at the walls, desperate to get up. _Come on, come on! _I heard Hicca scream again, this time it was more terrified than the first two. I growled angrily as I continued to claw at the walls, doing all I could to get up. Stones and twigs fell onto my face and dirt landed in my eyes, but I ignored it all. Giving a low snarl, I jumped up and managed to grab onto the edge of the small cliff, my claws gripping at the dirt. Using all my strength, I pulled myself up, pushing my other paw up to give me more leverage. I had just managed to push myself up over the cliff when another loud roar sounded from the Nightmare I had heard earlier, along with another scream.

'Hold on, Hicca!'

Not even thinking about anything else I started charging away from the cave in straight into the forest. Now, when I say I charged, I didn't just run. I sprinted through those woods, dodging trees and running through bushes. I didn't care if I was scratching myself, I didn't care if I was tired, all I cared about was getting to wherever Hicca was, and making sure that she was safe. _Please, ho__ld on, Hicca! I swear, I'm coming!_

* * *

I was panting and gasping, trapped on the stone floor. The Nightmare had me pinned to the ground, his clawed paw acting as some sort of cage. My arms were up over my head, trying to put up even a slight defense for me. But I knew if this dragon had any intentions of killing me, then there was no hope of escaping. I moved my hands away from my eyes, daring myself to look up at the snarling dragon.

"Please, stop," I begged him. "It's not too late. Please!"

But the dragon either did hear me or didn't want to, for the only response I got was an angry hiss. I swallowed. _This is it…_ Not wanting to look I covered my face and turned my head as I closed my eyes. I didn't want to watch myself get blasted. _I'm sorry, Toothless,_ I thought sadly. _I'm so sorry…_ But just as I thought this a loud, screech-like ringing filled the air, drowning out the noise of the crowd and the growls of the Nightmare. It sounded familiar, and it was growing louder and louder by the second. Then, when it was at its loudest, a voice sounded out, louder than anything.

'HICCA…!'

I only had enough time to gasp before there was loud _boom_, followed by an explosion. From what I could see, something had blown a hole in the cage around the ring. The explosion was followed with dark smoke that filled the air. I coughed, trying to see something pass the smoke. Then…

'GET AWAY FROM HER!'

Suddenly the Nightmare's claws were removed from my form, freeing me from my place. I gasped and sat up, scooting back quickly. Within the smoke all I could hear was roaring and growling. I squinted hard as the smoke began to fade. Once it had completely disappeared, my fears were confirmed. It was Toothless.

"No…"

I watched in horror as Toothless bit, clawed, and tore at the Nightmare. Within seconds the giant dragon roared as he backed away. Toothless roared at him, quickly standing protectively in front of me. The Nightmare growled, trying to reached me from the left, but Toothless blocked him.

'Stay back!'

The Nightmare tried the other side, Toothless growled as he blocked him again, snapping at him.

'I said STAY BACK!'

The Nightmare reared his head back, letting out an angry snarl.

'Move, Night Fury! You have no business here!'

'Yes I do!' Toothless roared. 'This human is my friend, _and_ my companion. If you lay one claw on her, I swear, _I will rip your damn head off_!'

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. Never had I thought Toothless would ever get that mad or yell so furiously. But here he was, screaming his head off and defending me like his life depended on it. The Nightmare stared Toothless down, and angry look on his face. Then he snorted, snapping at us before running off to the other end of the ring, even running towards his cage. Toothless finally took a step back, panting heavily. I sat there, breathing heavily at what I had just witnessed. I attention was caught, however, when I heard yells and shouts coming from outside the ring. I looked up and saw people were crawling through the bars and gesturing at Toothless.

"Someone get down there!"

"Get that thing!"

_Oh no…_ I quickly got to my feet and ran up to Toothless. He looked up at me, and I was astonished to see he was smiling.

'Hicca! You're okay…'

"Yeah yeah, I'm okay. But you have to go," I said hurriedly. "Toothless go, get out of here!"

I started pushing on him, desperate for him to move. But he wouldn't budge. I looked up around the ring, and gasped. People were now jumping down from the outside of the ring, running towards us.

"Don't let it get away!"

"Take it alive!"

"Go, get out of here!" I shouted at him.

'No! I have to protect you!' Toothless shouted back.

I moaned miserably. I glanced up, looking all around the ring, trying to see a way out. Then I looked at the entrance, and saw to my horror that my dad had picked up an ax and was running straight for us.

"Stoick, no!" Austen shouted at him.

"No, dad!" I yelled. "I swear, he won't hurt you!"

Then Toothless growled. 'Stay away!'

Before I could stop him he jumped forward, crouching down. A few men came from the sides, but Toothless kicked them away with ease.

"No no, don't!" I yelled. "Please, stop! You're making it worse!'

But no one seemed to have heard me. I looked forward and saw my dad was less than a foot away from Toothless, his ax raised in the air. Toothless roared as he jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. I gasped and ran up, staying only a few feet away.

"Toothless, stop!"

It seemed that he didn't hear me either. He lowered his paws onto my dads' shoulders, keeping him pinned. Then he reared his head back, his jaws open, as though about to fire. Without even thinking I screamed as loud as I could.

"NO…!"

Toothless' jaws snapped shut, looking as though he had swallowed the blast he was about to let loose. He bent over and turned to look at me, a look of confusion on his face.

'What's wrong? Why does he matter?'

"He's my dad!"

Toothless blinked, giving what sounded like a horrified gasp(as well as a dragon could gasp, that is).

'Oh gods, Hicca, I'm so sorry! I didn't-'

But he never even got to finish. A Viking had come up and punched him hard in the face. Another came up and grabbed his face, slamming him to the ground. I gasped and started to run forward, but I was stopped as someone came up and held me back. It was Austen.

"Hicca, no…"

"No no, stop! Don't hurt him!" I cried, my voice cracking. "Please, don't hurt him…"

Groaning in pain, Toothless managed to look over at me.

'Hicca…stay back…' he choked. 'I don't want you…getting hurt…'

I was hyperventilating now, my breaths short and shallow. _No, this can't be happening! It _can't_ be!_ I felt like I was going to cry, and I even felt my eyes starting to water. Austen kept his arms around me, now somewhere between hugging me and holding me. I sniffed loudly, and I felt my eyes go up. My dad was standing over Toothless, his face exhausted but full of anger.

"…Put it with the others."

* * *

"Dad stop- please let me explain-"

My dad completely ignored me. He just continued to drag me by my collar, leading me towards the Great Hall. I was nearly choking with the way he was holding me but I didn't care. I had been trying to talk to him the whole time, but he just would not talk to me. Once we were outside the Hall doors though, I'd had enough.

"Let me go!" I yelled.

My dad let out what sounded like and angry growl and swung the door open. He then tossed me in there, evidently, not caring whether I fell or not. I staggered into the dark hall, managing to keep my balance. I turned around as my dad marched in, muttering to himself.

"I should've known… I should've seen the signs…" he hissed.

I gulped. "Dad…"

"We had a deal!"

"I know we did! But, that-that was before I- Ugh, it's all so messed up now…"

"So everything in the ring?" my dad marched around. "A trick? _A lie_?!"

"I-I screwed up! I-I- I should've told you before now, but I couldn't…" I ran my hands through my hair, talking frantically. "L-look, just take this out on me, be mad at me. But please, just don't hurt Toothless!"

"The dragon?!" my dad whipped his head around, shooting a death glare at me. "That's what you're worried about?! Not the people yah almost killed?"

"He didn't mean any harm, I swear!" I cried. "He was just protecting me! He's not dangerous!"

"He's a _dragon_, Hicca! Why does he matter so much to you anyway?!"

"Because I love him!"

I gasped, my hands coming up to cover my own mouth. I didn't mean to say that. Honest, I didn't. It just sort of slipped out. And for first time in my life, my father seemed at lost for words. Suddenly I started to feel frightened for my life.

"…What did you say?" he breathed dangerously.

I gulped, lowering my hands a little. "You heard me…"

"Hicca, you're talking about a dragon! They are animals-"

"They're not complete animals!" I said loudly. "And they're not brainless reptiles either! They have powers; they can communicate telepathically, and they can shape-shift into these dragon humanoid things. They're more human than you think-"

"THEY'VE KILLED HUNDREDS OF US!"

"AND WE'VE KILLED THOUSANDS OF THEM!"

My dad stood straight, seeming a bit surprised at my shouting. He shook his head stubbornly, starting to pace in front of me.

"They defend themselves, that's all!" I continued, trying to stress the situation. "They raid us because they _have to_! If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's… something else on their island dad. It's- it's a dragon like you've never-"

"They're island!" my dad stopped suddenly. "So, you've been to the nest!"

I gulped. _Curse me and my big, stupid mouth!_

"Uh, d-did I say nest?" I asked, trying to act stupid. It didn't work.

"How did you find it?" my dad asked, sounding urgent.

"I-I didn't, Toothless did. Only a dragon can find the island…"

The second I said this I knew I shouldn't have. My dad's eyes widened as he stood up straight, a strange gleam in his eyes. I knew exactly what that meant.

"Oh, no, no, dad! Please no, it's not what you think!" I stammered quickly, reaching for him. "You don't know what you're up against it's like nothing you've ever seen!"

Giving a low grunt, my dad pushed my arms away, starting to walk away. _No, he can't do this!_

"Dad, please, I promise you, you can't win this one! Dad, no…"

My dad ignored me, starting to march faster towards the door. Without hesitating I ran up to him, grabbing as he arm and his furs, and suddenly I was shouting at him.

"For once in your life, WILL YOU PLEASE JUST LISTEN TO ME!"

My dad threw his arm back and pushed me roughly. I grunted as I fell back, then winced as I landed painfully on the ground. I pushed myself up, staring transfixed. _My own father just pushed me…_

"You've thrown you're lot in with them," he hissed, his voice quite unlike his own. "And you've given you're heart to that beast. You're not a Viking…"

_No, please…_

"…You're not my daughter."

It was as though a shard of ice had embedded itself in my heart. All the air in the room seemed to fade away, leaving me breathless. _That couldn't have happened… He wouldn't…_

"Ready the ships!"

I blinked and looked just in time to see the hall doors be slammed shut, just to bounce back open again, leaving a single stream of sunlight to pass through. After what felt like a millennium, my lips parted and a low, staggered breath passed through, but with each breath my chest felt even more crushed than it had before. Finally, the tears I had been holding back since I was in the ring finally started to fall, one single tear sliding down my cheek. This had to be the worse day of my life. I had just lost my best friend and possible boyfriend… now I had just lost my father...

_I don't have anyone…_

* * *

**_*_sniff, sniff* Oh Gods, i always hated this part...! *blows nose with a tissue* Umm...anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And i hope i posted it soon enough. Honestly, i'd really rather get this done before HTTRYD 2 comes out, which is like in TWO WEEKS for me. OOHH, so close and yet so far! I'M SUPER EXCITED! And i know you all are too! So, until next chapter, see yah!**


	14. New Plan

**Here i am! And i gots the new chapter for yah! And i know yah wanna read it, so go ahead! This chapter's got only Hicca's and Toothless' POV, so it's gonna switch up a bit. Just a little hint. And, begin...**

* * *

Ch. 14  
New Plan

Toothless' P.O.V.

This had to be the worse day of my life, even worse then how I felt when I first lost my tail. As soon as the man, who I discovered was Hicca's father said so, I was brought straight to one of their large ships. I was tied up with several thick ropes and held down by heavy chains. They had even put a tight leather muzzle on me, keeping my jaws shut. No matter how badly I struggled everything just seemed to hold me down, keeping me in place. If that wasn't enough, two men came over holding what looked like a wooden collar. They clamped it around my neck, and suddenly my head was being held down. I growled, trying my best to push away, but it did no good. For a few brief seconds I considered changing into my other form, then maybe I would be able to get away. But, then again, I was really chained up, and it didn't look like I would be able to slip out of this mess before the other humans would come at me again. I shook my head viciously, trying to think straight. _Calm down, Toothless. You can still get out of this…_

At that point I felt the wood I was strapped to being lifted up high in the air. I was moved to the side and landed roughly onto a ship. I grunted as I landed and started pulling on the chains again. I didn't know why I continued to do that, even when I knew it was no use. I just felt like it was better than just sitting here and doing nothing.

…_Toothless?_

My head snapped up suddenly, but was kept down by the collar on my neck. I perked my ears up and listened carefully. _Did I just hear…?_

_Toothless? Can you hear me, bud?_

I gasped. 'Hicca!'

_Oh gods, Toothless, are you okay?_

'Well, I'm bound in chains and tied down like wild animal,' I said matter-of-factly. 'But, I'm fine. They haven't hurt me yet.'

As though from a distance, I though I heard Hicca sigh.

_I'm so sorry. This is all my fault…_

'No, don't say that!' I said quickly. 'If anything, it's my fault. I should've left when you told me to.'

_But I should've been more careful in the ring! I was this close to gaining that Nightmare's trust, but my dad…_

At this, Hicca's thoughts were silent. I suddenly felt worried. What had her dad done after he had left the ring with her. From what I could see he had practically dragged her out of that place.

'Hicca, are you still there?'

_Uh-huh…_

'Are you…okay? You're not hurt, are you?'

_No, I'm not hurt… not physically, at least…_

I didn't need to hear anything else. I had a feeling that her and her father would have some kind of disagreement. I mean, the look on his face…

'Hicca, listen to me,' I calmed my voice so it was more comforting. 'I know things look bad, but I promise it's gonna be okay.'

_How do you know?_

'That's the thing… I don't…' I sighed. 'But I do know one thing. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to see you again, and when I do, I'm never letting you go again.'

There was a moment of silence. I sat there, waiting for her to respond. When she did, her voice was quiet, and slightly cracked.

_Toothless?_

'…Yes?'

_I…I love you, bud…_

Despite everything that was going on, I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face.

'I love you, too…'

At that point large footsteps sounded from behind me. I managed to glance back and saw it was Hicca's father. I grunted, trying to turn myself as best as I could to look over at the man. I hesitated, thinking of what to do. _Do _something_,_ _you idiot! _I groaned, then I finally spoke.

'You're making a mistake.'

His head snapped to me, his face contorted with fury. I narrowed my eyes back up at him. I knew he had heard me. I could see it in his small, aged eyes.

'You have to stop this,' I told him. 'You don't know what you're up against. There's something more horrible than you could ever imagine on that island. Surely, Hicca told you that.'

He shot a quick glare at me, then turned his back towards me.

"Set sail!" he called out. "We head for Helheim's Gate!"

I groaned, hanging my head. I glanced up at him, and noticed that he was gazing upward at the docks. I turned my head as best I could and looked around to find what he was looking at. Then I saw it. The figure he was staring at. Even from this distance I could still make out the same brunette figure I've come to care for so much.

'I'll come back for you, Hicca,' I said softly. 'I promise.'

At this the man whipped his head around, his glare now intensified. I glared back up at him, daring him to say something against my words. He stomped over to my side.

"Tell us where to go," he said in a voice that was barely a whisper, as though he feared someone might hear him.

I narrowed my eyes, and shook my head. The man clenched his fists, his face starting to go red.

"If you don't tell me, I'll make sure that you never see Hicca again."

My head snapped up for a second time before being forced down again due to the collar on my neck. I felt my eyes widen as I stared up at him. He couldn't possibly do that, could he?

'You…you can't do that!' I stammered, my voice starting to shake.

"I'm the chief," he whispered. "And I can make anything happen if I want to. I'm telling you right now, if you don't tell us where the nest is, then you will never see Hicca for as long as you live."

I inhaled sharply, the air thinning in my lungs. Never see Hicca again? The very thought of that made my blood run cold. _He's evil,_ I thought timidly. I stared up at the large man, finding it hard to believe that this stubborn, cruel human was the father of my sweet, adorable Hicca. _My Hicca… _How could someone as amazing as her come from something as mean as this man? How is it possible?!

"Well?"

I gulped, soon discovering that my decision was basically already made. Really, I only had one choice if I ever wanted to see Hicca again. I hung my head, not baring to look at anyone or anything.

'…Start heading North,' I mumbled. 'Keep going straight until you hit the fog, then go in. I'll find out where to go from there.'

I heard the man give a small "hm," before he turned to address his men.

"We head North, and keep going straight forward! All of you, follow us!"

There was a round of cheers mixed with battle cries as the ship finally started to move. I let out a miserable moan. _I'm sorry, Hicca…but not being able to see you again is something I cannot bare…_ I heard footsteps from right next to me, and glanced up. Hicca's father was walking by me, heading towards the front. I glared up at him, and he glared right back at me.

"Lead us home, _devil_…"

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

I stood on the docks, looking out at the now empty water. To say that watching my father sail off with my best friend chained up left a bad feeling in my stomach would be an understatement. It was ten times worse than that. But I didn't know how else to describe it other than that. Seeing the two people I had lost in one day sail away(probably forever) made me feel so empty- so vulnerable inside. It was almost like I had no more feeling.

I heard soft footsteps walking up next to me, and one glance over showed me it was Austen. He looked over at me, then out at the sea as he folded his arms.

"…It's a mess," he said finally. "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything; your father, your tribe, your best friend…"

"Thank you for summing that up," I said shortly, then I sighed. "…Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? Would it have been better for everyone if I did?"

"Probably," Austen admitted. "The rest of us would've done it. Anyone in the village would've jumped at the chance to kill a legendary Night Fury. …So why didn't you?"

I didn't answer him at first. I was still taking a minute to let all of his words sink in.

"Why didn't you?"

I sighed. "I don't know… I couldn't."

Austen shook his head. "That's not an answer."

"Why is this so important to you, all of a sudden?" I snapped at him.

"Because I wanna remember what you say, right now!"

"Ugh, for the love if- You wanna know why I didn't do it?!" I snapped my head towards him. "Well, here it is; I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"

"You said wouldn't that time-"

"Well, whatever! _I wouldn't_!" I yelled. "Three-hundred years, seven generations, and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon! Happy?!"

Austen's face fell slightly as he stared at me, as though trying to understand something. I sighed before turning by back on him. There was silence…

"…First to ride one, though. And definitely first to fall in love with one."

That made me stop and think. Despite what I was feeling, Austen was right. I might've been the first Viking to not have the guts to kill a dragon, but I was also the first to let one go. The first to ride one, the first to befriend one…the first to love one. And I really, _really _loved Toothless; both as a best friend, and way more.

"So…?"

"…I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was," I turned to look at Austen. "I looked at him…and I saw myself."

Austen stood straighter, a small grin forming on his face. Clearly, that was the answer he wanted.

"I bet he's really frightened now," he said. "What are you gonna do about it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, probably something stupid."

"Good, but you've just done that."

I looked up at him, and saw he was smiling at me. This caused me to smile slightly, as well.

"Then something crazy."

Austen nodded. "That's more like it."

* * *

Toothless' P.O.V.

I sighed and looked up as we started to enter the fog. It wouldn't be long now and I would hear _her _voice; the voice that would force me to lead all of these people right to their deaths. I had fully given up on struggling now, for I saw no point. The humans made good work on making sure I would not escape.

"Sound your positions," I heard Hicca's father call out. "Stay within earshot."

I glanced at him as he stood at the front, peering overhead, as though trying to see a path through the thick fog. A second man with a missing arm and leg(Hicca told me his name was Gobber, the man she was apprentice to) walked up next to Hicca's father.

"Listen, Stoick(_Ah, so that's his name_), I was overhearing some of the men just now and, well, yah know, some of them are wondering what it is we're up to here- n-not me of course!"

I had to stifle the small chuckle in my throat at that.

"I know you're always the man with the plan. But some- not me, are wondering if there is, in fact a plan at all, and what it might be?"

"Find the nest and take it," Stoick whispered.

The man known as Gobber opened his mouth, but I never heard his words, for my worst fear had finally come. The loud, horribly familiar ringing noise filled my ears within a few seconds, echoing in my head. _No, please no! _I felt my head start to twitch to each side, my ears perking up, forcing myself to find where the noise was coming from specifically. I knew that as soon as I heard her voice that I would have no choice but to follow it. And, sure enough, after a few seconds…

"_I know you're there, Night Fury… come to me…"_

At once my head snapped up and I turned to the right. As soon as I did this, the ship turned sharply to the right. I knew that Stoick must've noticed my movements and didn't hesitate to follow them. I continued to listen and a second later I heard the voice coming from the left, and I turned my head in the direction. Another sharp turn followed that. After a couple more turns we started to just head straight. Out of my field of vision I could just make out many different Viking ships, all torn and smashed to pieces.

"_Hmm, I smell the blood of humans, many humans…" _there was an evil chuckle._ "My my, what a feast you've brought me, my pet…"_

_Odin, forgive me…_ I thought fearfully. Unwillingly, I turned to the right, in the direction the voice was coming from, and the ship turned sharply to the right as well. We continued straight for a few moments, and I continued to listen all around. Then the fog ahead started to clear up, and passed it I could see the island. As soon as it came into focus the noise in my head stopped. With out hesitation I used all the strength I had to snap out of my trance and I immediately started to struggle against my restraints. _No! Oh Gods, please no! Turn back!_

"Stay low, and ready your weapons," Stoick called out.

_No! Turn back! _A second later the ship hit the shore roughly before finally coming to a stop. I lifted my head to stare at the island, and growled angrily. I glanced in front of me, and saw Stoick standing by the edge of the boat.

"We're here…"

I grunted lowly, and struggled against the chains as I leaned forward towards him.

'It's not too late,' I managed to say, and I was surprised to hear my voice was breathless. 'We can still turn back, and everything will be fine.'

The man kept his back towards me, but I saw his fists clench like they had earlier. I knew he heard me, but he didn't respond. He didn't have to, however, because I could still hear his thoughts.

_Why in the hell should I listen to the beast who took my daughter away from me?_

That made me want to jump up wake him with my tail. Was he seriously accusing me of taking Hicca away from him?! She _chose _to come to me! It wasn't my fault that we fell for each other, it happened naturally. I glared up at the man, and just as he was about to jump over the edge of the boat I spoke to him. But when I did, my voice was loud and clear in his head.

'I didn't take her away from anyone, I fell in love with her,' I growled lowly. 'And nobody needed to take her from you… You pushed her away…'

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

I stood still, looking up at the Monstrous Nightmare's cage. I slowly lifted my hand, pressing it to the wood of the logs that kept it locked.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronkle."

I whipped my head around and blinked. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Austen were all standing there, looking at me almost expectantly. Then I glanced over at Austen, and saw he was grinning at me. I stared at them, wondering where they came from and why they were here. Then Tuffnut pushed passed Ruffnut and marched up to me.

"You were wise to seek help from the world's most _deadly _weapon…!" but when I stared in confusion, he added. "It's me."

Snotlout pushed him out of the way and stood in front of my, his fists raised in what appeared to be excitement.

"I _love _this plan!" he said, smiling.

"Uh, I don't…"

Suddenly Ruffnut pushed Snotlout's arm up so that he ended up punching himself. Once he was out of the way she stood in front of me.

"You're crazy!" then she smiled. "I like that."

She then placed a hand on her hip, and lifted her fist up towards me. I stared at her for a second, then grinned as I fist bumped her. A second later Tuffnut came back up and hung over his sister's shoulder, looking lazier than ever.

"I like it, too," he said, winking at me.

I grimaced, and Ruffnut rolled her eyes. Then Austen came up and pushed them both out of the way.

"So, what _is _the plan?" he asked.

I blinked, then smiled up at him. Then I turned so I was facing the others, who were all still looking at me expectantly.

"Well, I do have a plan," I admitted. "But if it's gonna work, I'm gonna need you all to trust me."

There was a moments' pause. At once, they all looked at one another, as though having some sort of silent debate. After a few seconds they all turned and, one by one, they nodded. I grinned.

"Alright," I said. "Do me a favor, all of you line up over there."

Everyone went to the middle of the arena where I was pointing and stood in a straight line; the order was Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, Austen, then Snotlout. I waited as they got in the line, then nodded. I turned around and looked up at the dragons' cage, wondering how to approach this. _Well, might as well just get in there and do it, _I told myself. I quickly went over and unlocked the cage so the two logs were out of the way. I heard the others shift behind me, but they did nothing else. I waited for a minute, thinking that something big was going to happen, but there was no big explosion this time.

"Thank Odin…" I breathed.

I walked forward, holding my breath as I grabbed the cage doors. Slowly, I pulled them open. I heard some of the others gasp, but I ignored them. From the bit of sunlight that now penetrated the dark, I could see the Monstrous Nightmare, snoozing on the other side if the cage floor. I slowly stepped inside so I was only a few feet away from him.

"Psst…wake up…"

The dragon snored for a second, but at my voice he had started to shift slightly. I spoke to him calmly for a moment until finally, he opened one of his eyes. His pupil was a slit for a moment, then widened into a large oval.

"Hey," I said gently.

The Nightmare groaned a little as he slowly rose up until he was on his feet. He narrowed his eyes at me, almost like he was examining me. Then his eyes softened, and I was surprised to see him hang his head.

'I'm…I'm sorry, okay?' he said a little sharply. 'I didn't mean to hurt yah, or anything. There, I said it. Happy?'

I sighed. "Don't apologize," I said. "It's wasn't your fault, you were just spooked."

The dragon glanced up at me. 'You don't blame me? At all?'

"Nah, it wasn't your fault. If anything, it was my dad's."

"Hicca, why are you talking to that thing?" I heard Fishlegs call out, his voice trembling.

The Nightmare's eyes snapped up, and he growled lowly. I lifted my arms quickly, taking a few steps forward.

"No, it's okay. They're friends," I told him. "They're not here to hurt you, I swear."

The dragon glared over my head for another moment, then huffed as he lowered himself. I smiled, happy to see him calm.

'So, why are you all here exactly?' he asked me.

"Because I need your help," I stepped forward. "My friend, the Night Fury you fought earlier, he's in trouble, and so is my village. They're heading to the dragons' nest, and-"

'What?!' the dragon straightened up. 'Those fools! Don't they know what's in there?'

I sighed, and shook my head. The Nightmare huffed irritably and said something that sounded like "typical."

"That's why we need you're help," I told him. "If we don't do something everyone is gonna die out there."

The Nightmare sighed, then looked up at me. It was at that point that I saw his pupils were now completely round.

'I assume you have a plan, then?'

I smiled, and nodded. Then, slowly, I reached my hand out.

"If it's gonna work, I'm gonna need you to trust me."

The dragon looked from me to my hand, a cautious and curious look on his face. Then he slowly crouched down and leaned his head forward as he sniffed my hand. I smiled, then slowly started to back up. The dragon followed, taking slow steps as he kept his snout within an inch of my hand, but not yet touching it. Soon I was out of the cage, my hand still outstretched to the dragon. I could hear the others muttering excitedly, and I had to suppress my chuckle. Finally, when I was only a few steps away from the others, the Nightmare brought his snout up to touch my hand. The second my hand connected he let out a soft cooing sound.

"Trust me, now?"

'Yes, I do.'

"Good," I walked back more. "But you're gonna have to trust them, too. In fact…"

I reached behind me and grabbed Snotlout's wrist. He didn't say anything at first, but when I brought his hand up to touch the dragon he tried to snatch it back.

"Wait! What are you-"

"Shh, relax," I said gently, and when he looked unconvinced, "It's okay, it's okay…"

Snotlout hesitated, but he didn't resist anymore. I slowly pulled his hand forward until it was inches away from the dragon. _Here we go…_ In one quick movement, I lifted my hand up just as I brought Snotlout's hand down to gently touch the dragons' snout. I felt the muscles in his hand tense up, but soon started to relax as the Nightmare started to make soft sounds, like it was purring. I turned to look at Snotlout, and was pleased to see that his mouth had grown into a smile. Then he started laughing in a surprised and happy sort of way. I smiled at him, then turned and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?!" Snotlout asked, sounding nervous again.

I didn't answer at first. I continued walking over to a wooden crate and looked down. There at the bottom sat a pile of ropes. I grabbed some out of the crate and turned. The others stared at me, and I just smiled, raising the rope in my hands.

"You're gonna need something to help yah hold on."

* * *

**Aaaaand that's it! I hope this chapter was good enough. I don't know why but i felt like it was kind of short. But don't worry. The next two are bound to be longer than this. Trust me! So, be on the lookout!**

**PS: Oh, umm, quick Q; could you guys tell me whether or not i'm the only 17 year-old who's excited about the movie? It's something i've been thinking about for a lil bit, and i'd like to know... :/**


	15. End of the Queen

**Hey Peps! Its after midnight here and i am PUMPED! ONLY FIVE MORE DAYS UNTIL THE MOVIE IS OUT! EEEEPPP! But, as exciting as that is, we have business here. Yes, i'm referring to the story you've come to read. A heads up, this first part is gonna be told from Stoick's point of view. I'm not very good at writing for him so i apologize if it turns out i did a horrible job. Soooo...go read!**

* * *

Ch. 15  
End of the Queen

Stoick's P.O.V.

I was bent over the slight rocky ground, a few of my men and Gobber circled around me. All around us, the rest of the Vikings had set up all of our weapons and catapults, readying for however many dragons we were going to face. I held a stick and drew an image for my battle plan in the dirt.

"When we crack this mountain open, all Hell is gonna break loose."

"And my undies," said Gobber. "Good thing I brought extras."

I stood straight up as I looked up at the large mountain. I took a few steps forward, determination building up inside me.

"No matter how this ends," I called out. "It ends today."

I raised my hand up above my head, hesitating for a moment. Then I closed it. At once all of the catapults fired, launching large boulders into the air. One by one, the boulders slammed into the stone wall, all hitting the center. Bits of the mountain started to chip and crumble away, tumbling to the ground. Then as the last boulder hit the wall it finally broke through, creating a new cave into the mountain. Everyone around me cheered, but I remained silent. I grabbed my hammer and quickly made my way to the opening. I climbed up over all the pile of rocks until I was standing just outside the entranced. I squinted inside, but I couldn't see anything in the dark. I made a small gesture with my arm, telling them to launch a fireball. I waited for a few seconds before I heard the sound of the catapult being launched. The fireball flew over my head and into the cave. As it passed through, the light from the fire revealed what was inside. Dragons. Hundreds upon hundreds of dragons along the walls, the ground, even the along the top. I glared up at them even as the light faded away when the fireball disappeared.

A second later I let out a loud battle cry, raising my hammer high in the air, and all the Vikings behind me followed suit. I charged down the rocks and into the cave, and my scream startled the dragons. Everywhere around me the beasts flew above me with super speed. I jumped up and waved my hammer, trying to hit at least a few of them, but they would not slow down enough for me to even scrap them. I groaned and turned to watched them fly out of the large cave. I saw all of my fighters attempt the same thing, but they could never even so much as touched the things. Soon enough all of the beasts had flown away, far from our reach. I climbed back up to stand in the entrance, and we all stood and watched them fly away into the gray cloudy sky.

"Is that it?" Gobber asked, sounding unimpressed.

I took a few steps forward, staring as the last of the bests disappeared into the sky. _Is that really all it is? Hehe, and to think, Hicca was acting like there was a real monster out here._

"We've done it!" Gobber called out.

Everyone yelled in triumph, punching their fists in the air. I stood still, thinking this over. Yes, this should be something to celebrate, but I couldn't help but feel that this wasn't it. _Don't be a fool, Stoick,_ I told myself. _You got rid of the dragons, you've won. You should be happy…_ And yet, a tiny voice in the back of my head was telling me that something was wrong. That this was all too easy. Suddenly in the distance I heard something. Something that sounded like an injured animal. I glanced over at my ship and squinted. From here I could just make out the Night Fury in the front, still trapped on my ship. He was struggling worse than before, letting out loud wails. Then, to my surprise, I heard him cry out.

'No! Let me out! Please, someone let me out now!'

For some reason the sound of that beast begging to be freed gave me chills. This thing was said the be 'the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself,' for Thors' sake. What in the world could be so horrible that it could scare a Night Fury?

"This isn't over!" I called out quickly, turning back around. "Form your ranks, hold together!"

I barley had enough time to finish speaking before it happened; the ground started to shake, almost like a small earthquake, making more rocks fall from the mountain. I looked down and saw, to my surprise, the ground inside the cave starting to crack, a large gap leading right for me. The crack passed under my feet and then behind me. I looked up and stared into the cave, keeping my balance in the shaking ground. Suddenly there was a loud, ear-piercing roar that echoed all around me, forceful wind blowing against me. Then the stone floor began to crack everywhere, splitting apart. I turned and waved for everyone to get back, hopping down off the pile of rocks.

"GET CLEAR!" I shouted.

At once, everyone scrambled away, shouting in fear. I ran off with them, not even looking behind me to see what was happening, but I could definitely hear what sounded like the mountain crumbling down. I continued running, looking around to make sure that no one was hurt or being attacked. Then I heard the monstrous roar again, and I turned. My heart seemed to fail. There, stomping out of the large hole in the mountain, was a dragon of which I had never seen the likes of. It was huge, at least half the size of the mountain, and just as wide. And to top it all off, it was _hideous_! Never in my life had I seen something that looked so ugly and so dangerous all at once. It looked like the kind of monster you would hear about in a scary folk tale.

"Beard of Thor, what is that?!" Gobber gasped.

I did not answer. All I could do was stare in horror at the monstrous dragon that was now trampling around, roaring its ugly head off.

"Odin help us…" I muttered.

The dragon roared again, now fully out of its protective mountain. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Catapults!" I shouted.

At once the catapults were launched. The large boulders flew out and hit the dragon everywhere, but for all the good it did, they might as well have thrown a stone at it. In fact, it seemed to do nothing but make the beast angry. It have an angry roar before throwing its head down and destroying the catapults.

"Get to the ships!" I heard someone shout.

I shook my head. "No, no!"

But it was too late. The dragon looked down, appearing to know where we were going. It roared again before opening its jaws and letting its fire shoot out. It wasn't like the other dragons' fire, either. This fire came out in an amount so big it looked like it could destroy the village with one blast. The fire shot out and immediately engulfed the ships, which all erupted in large flames. More screams followed all around me, people running everywhere. Now we have a monster attacking us, and we have no way of getting home. I thought I heard Gobber say something like "smart, that one," but I ignored him.

"I was a fool," I said under my breath, then I turned to Spitelout. "Lead the men to the far side of the island."

"Right," he said, running with the others.

"Gobber, go with the men."

"I think I'll stay, just in case you were thinkin' of doin' somethin' crazy," he said, hobbling after me.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face him. "I can bide them a few minutes if I give that thing som'in' tah hunt!"

I turned to leave but Gobber grabbed my arm, stopping me. I glared at him. Then he grinned, gripping my hand.

"Then I can double that time."

My face slowly fell into a grin as well. Gobber was always my best battle partner, as well as my good friend. We nodded at each other before our hands fell and we turned to look up at the giant monster.

"HERE!" I shouted.

Gobber chuckled. "Oh no. HERE!"

I ran forward, trying to make as much noise as possible. I ran up and grabbed a sharpened spear from the ground, reared my hand back, and flung it forward. The spear flew up and hit the dragon in the side of the head. It blinked, and turned its head down to me. It growled, lowering its head closer to me.

"NO!" Gobber shouted, getting the dragons' attention. "FIGHT ME!"

"NO, ME!" I shouted back.

The dragon growled, sounding a bit annoyed. It then reared it head back, opening its jaws to fire down at me. I glared up at it, ready for what was coming. But before the dragon could blast me, there was a loud _boom_, and suddenly fire exploded by its head. I blinked, staring up at the thing. What happened? It looked as though something had hit it, but what could've… But I had my answer before I could finish. Through the smoke from the fire, I saw several shapes circle around the beasts head.

Dragons. Yes, four dragons- a Nadder, a Gronkle, a Nightmare and a Zippleback, all with strange figures on their backs. One of them looked very familiar…

"Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!" I heard Hicca's voice shout. "Move, Fishlegs!"

Yes, Hicca was there, riding on the Nadder with Austen Hufferson. I stared up at them, not even blinking as they circled around. I felt my lips mouth the words 'what the,' but no sound came out. I was completely speechless.

"Look at us, we're on a dragon!" I heard the boy Tuffnut shout. "We're on dragons, all of us!"

From the corner of my eye I could see all the other Vikings standing still, staring in amazement. It was strange enough seeing Hicca trying to pet a dragon earlier, but seeing her _and _all the other children actually _riding them_? That was a whole other thing.

"Every bit the bore-headed, stubborn Viking you ever were!" I heard Gobber say to me.

I nodded shortly. He couldn't be more right.

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

"Now might be a good time to execute you plan," Austen said over my shoulder.

I nodded, then looked over at Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, break it down!"

"Okay," he looked down at the Red Death. "Heavily armored skull used for bashing and crushing; steer clear of both. Small eyes, large nostrils, relies on hearing and smell."

I nodded. Good, that means we got some advantage. I turned my head to address Snotlout and Fishlegs.

"Alright, 'Lout, 'Legs, hang in its blind spot. Make some noise, keep it confused," I turned to the twins. "Ruff, Tuff, find out if its got a shot limit; make it mad."

"That's my specialty!" Ruff jeered.

"Since when?" said Tuff. "Everyone knows I'm more annoying. See?"

In one movement Tuffnut leaned over sharply so he was now upside-down, his tongue hanging out as he made an annoying noise. I groaned.

"Just do what I told you!" I snapped at them. "I have to go find Toothless. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Don't worry, we got it covered!" Snotlout called out.

I sighed, then patted the Nadders' head. "Get us over to those ships."

'You mean the ones that are on fire?' she asked, sounding like that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Unfortunately, yes."

'Figures…'

The Nadder turned sharply and flew over to the ships, high enough so she wouldn't touch the flames. I leaned over, looking around desperately for Toothless. But so far all I could see was a bunch of destroyed ships, which were all on fire. I gulped, hoping against hope that he wasn't hurt, or, at the very least, still alive. _No, don't think like that! _I told myself. _He is alive, he must be! _I moved my bangs away, trying to get a better look at the burning ships. Almost at once, I glanced over at one, and saw a large black shape shifting around viciously.

"There!" I shouted, pointing at the ship.

The Nadder stopped and made a dive for the ship. As she flew over I quickly switched places with Austen so he was now flying the dragon. Careful not to get burned, she lowered herself until she was low enough for me to get off. I swung my legs over and quickly jumped off, landing flat on my feet. Toothless' head snapped up as I landed in front of him.

'Hicca!'

I quickly turned to Austen. "Go help the others!"

"But, Hicca-"

"Go! I'll meet you up there!"

Austen nodded. Then he and the Nadder flew up and went back to go help the others. I turned and ran over to Toothless, grabbing the leather muzzle and yanking it off.

"Alright, hold on, buddy," I said, trying to stay calm.

'Hicca, you shouldn't be here,' he said sternly. 'You have to go or you'll get hurt!'

"Shut up and let me save you!"

I turned around, looking for something to help pry the chains and ropes off. I saw a long spear on the floor and quickly picked it up. I went to Toothless' side and shoved the sharp end under the plate of metal that held the chains down. I pushed down as hard as I could on the other end, trying to force the metal to come off.

"It- won't- budge-!" I grunted.

"Hicca, it's no use, it's not gonna come off," said Toothless. "You have to get out of here before it's too late."

"No! I'm not leaving you!" I yelled.

Toothless groaned, then he started struggling and pulling on the chains as well. I continued to push down, trying to undo the chains. _This is never gonna work… I have to think of something. _But just as I was thinking of doing something else I glanced up to see what looked like the Red Deaths' massive foot falling down towards us.

_CRASH!_ The large foot came down on the ship, causing the whole thing to crumble in the water. I had just enough time to hold my breath before I fell through the surface. I turned around, searching the water for Toothless. I looked down and to my horror I saw him sinking down further into the water until he hit the rocky bottom. I pushed and kicked until I was swimming towards him, making sure to keep my mouth closed. The pressure on my head built up slightly but I didn't care. I swam down until I was in front of Toothless, who was thrashing around worse than ever.

'Hicca, please, get out now!'

I shook my head, patting him slightly. I reached forward and grabbed the chain, yanking on it with all my might. I was so focused on trying to get rid of the chains that I almost forgot about the pressure building up, or the fact that my head was starting to feel heavy. _Come on, you can do this…_ But even as I thought this I could feel the strength in my arms starting to weaken, and my vision was getting blurry. Before I could do anything my grip on the chains slackened, and thought I felt myself float back a bit.

'Hicca!'

But almost couldn't hear Toothless' voice. My head was spinning as my vision started to go black…

Suddenly out of nowhere I felt something pull me by my shirt, dragging me back upward. I heard Toothless yell, but there was nothing I could do. Within seconds I felt my head break the surface, and cool air flooded my lungs instantly. I felt my figure being dragged through the water and then land gently on the sandy beach. The second my head hit the ground I began to cough, leaning over to spit the water out from my lungs. I pushed myself up, looking forward at the person who had saved me.

It was my father.

"D-dad?"

He didn't answer me. He turned my back to me and jumped back into the water. I slowly staggered to my feet, trying not to fall over. I took a few steps towards the water, looking down. I couldn't see anything. _What's going on? What's happening down there?_ Suddenly there was a great splash as something big broke the surface of the water. I blinked in time to see my dad being dropped down in front of me. A second later I heard the thudding of feet landing behind me. I whipped around. Toothless was standing there, shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water off.

"Toothless!"

Without hesitating I ran up and hugged him tightly around his neck. He let out a relieved cooing sound, one of his paws coming up to wrap around me.

"Oh, thank gods you're alright," I breathed.

'Please, you think you can get rid of me that easily?'

I chuckled, leaning back to look up at him. He was smiling down at me, a loving expression on his face. Then his eyes glanced over, and we both turned our heads. The Red Death was still causing extreme havoc, roaring with irritation and anger. Toothless growled as he ran forward and hopped up on the rock, glaring at the beast.

'That monster has caused too much trouble this time,' he turned to me, and nodded up at the dragon. 'Come on.'

I grinned. "You got it, bud."

Without hesitating I ran up to him, quickly jumping up. I sat up right on the saddle, quickly strapping my harness in.

"Hicca!"

Suddenly a large hand grabbed my wrist. I blinked and looked up. My dad was standing there, his mouth opened, looking like he was trying to say something.

"…I'm sorry," he said finally. "For-for everything."

I sighed. "Yeah…me too."

He bit his lip. "You don't have to go up there."

"We're Vikings," I grinned. "It's an occupational hazard."

My dad blinked, staring at me in disbelief. Then a wide smile grew on his face, and he clasped his other hand over mine.

"I'm proud to call you my daughter…"

Just that sentence alone was enough to bring me to tears. But instead, I just smiled and held his hand with my free one.

"Thanks dad…"

He nodded, finally letting go of my arm. I gave him a small nod before patting Toothless' head, telling him to go. He raised his wings and quickly snapped them down, launching us into the air. We continued to fly up higher and higher until we were high enough to look down on the Red Death, who was still causing mayhem.

'So, what exactly is your plan, again?' Toothless asked.

"Still planning it out, to be honest," I said shortly.

Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure what to do next. So, I sat and watched as the others got clear of the Red Death. I watched as the twins were able to get Snotlout out of harms way(just barely, by the way). I was just starting to think of what to do when I froze. The Red Death had opened its jaws just as Austen and the Nadder were about to fly away, and it now appeared to be sucking them in towards its open mouth.

"Toothless!" I cried.

'Don't worry, I'm on it!'

Toothless shot out and quickly zoomed as fast as he could towards the dragon, making a loud screeching sound as he did. I held on tightly to the saddle, knowing what Toothless had in mind. Then, just as the dragon was about to clamp its jaws on Austen and the Nadder, Toothless shot a plasma blast on the dragons' face, forcing its jaws shut. Unfortunately, the force of the blast caused Austen to fall off the Nadder. Before I could say anything Toothless had already looped upside-down and shot forward towards where Austen was heading. Austen fell and just as he was about to hit the ground we passed over him.

"Did you get him?" I asked, sounding a little scared.

Toothless paused, then ducked his head under to look. A second later he laughed.

'Yeah, I got him. He's fine.'

I sighed with relief. We quickly flew down towards the ground and gently set Austen down. I looked back once to make sure he was alright before turning forward and Toothless flew up higher again. As we gained height I turned my head and looked down at the Red Death. I looked all over its features, trying to see if it had some kind of visible weak spot. Then my eyes landed on its wings, and I saw how thin and unused they looked.

"That thing has wings… Okay, let see if it can use them!" I said loudly.

Toothless chuckled darkly. 'I like the sound of that!'

Instantly he turned and made a dive towards the dragon, letting out a loud roar. Just as it looked like we were about to crash into it, Toothless let out another plasma blast right on the things' ugly face. Surprisingly, the force of the blast caused it to fall down on its side. We didn't stay long enough to look before turning and flying back up, quickly trying to gain some height.

"Yah think that did it?" I asked.

Toothless snorted as he said, 'I don't see how it couldn't, she's got a short temper.'

Just as he said it there was a loud _whooshing _sound coming from behind us. I had a feeling on what it was. Sure enough, when I turned around I saw that the Red Death was in the air, quickly gaining on us. Suddenly a powerful, evil female voice roared through the air.

'YOU DARE DEFY ME, NIGHT FURY?!'

"Well, she can fly!" I said shortly.

Without responding Toothless dove down and suddenly got quicker with his flying. The Red Death continued to follow us, snapping at us every chance it got. She was so desperate to catch us that she was crashing through the towering stone pillars all around. It was when she was getting a little too close to us that I started to look for another route. I then looked up at the sky, up at the dark grey clouds.

'YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY, NIGHT FURY!' the dragon roared. 'YOU AND YOUR PATHETIC HUMAN WILL DIE!'

I huffed angrily. "Okay Toothless, time to disappear!" I repositioned the tail. "Come on, bud!"

Quickly we turned up and started to fly up to the sky, into the dark clouds. From behind me I could hear the dragon growl, then a loud hissing noise coming from the back of its throat, indicating that it was about to shoot its fire.

"Here it comes!" I shouted.

Then at the last second we turned and moved just in time as the dragon blasted its fire. We spun around and started to zigzag in front of the dragon as we continued to go higher and higher. The clouds were suddenly becoming thicker and darker as we went higher. _Come on, just a little more… _Then, Toothless gave an extra spurt of speed and we were cloaked in darkness. We turned and looked down. I was just able to see that monster through the clouds, turning and roaring as it searched for us. I glared at it, a thought coming to my head.

"When I give the signal, fly straight at it and aim for its wings," I whispered, leaning over Toothless.

'I like the way you think,' he said quietly.

I grinned and looked back down, watching the dragon growl as it looked around for us.

'YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ME FOREVER!'

"We don't need to," I growled. "Now, Toothless!"

Letting out a loud growl dove down and quickly circled around the Red Death. Before she had time to even turn Toothless had already zoomed down and shot a plasma blast on her right wing. She screamed in pain, thrashing her wings around.

"Hit her again!" I shouted.

Toothless circled back around and hit her again in her wing. Then again after that, and again after that. He never gave the angry dragon enough time to recover before he hit her with his powerful blasts over and over again. It got to the point where I thought I saw small rips beginning to form on the dragons' old wings. Suddenly the dragon screamed.

'ENOUGH!'

Without warning she flung her mouth open and an enormous amount of fire burst from her jaws. She flung her head back and forth, causing the fire to fly around like the end of a gigantic whip. Toothless growled in irritation and turned sharply to avoid the flames.

"Watch out!" I yelled.

But even as we avoided the flames I knew something wasn't right. As soon as we were out of the way I turned around to see if there was any damage. The tail was now lit with the fire.

"Okay, times up," I muttered. "Let's see if this works. Toothless, dive!"

Toothless leaned back so he was now diving back down towards the dragon. He turned to the side to avoid one of the massive wings coming our way.

"Come on! Is that the best you can do?" I shouted at her.

Toothless roared. 'Yeah! Give us your best shot!'

Suddenly, all _three _of the dragons' eyes opened, locking onto us. She snapped her jaws at us but we easily dodged her. Once we were out of the way we instantly went into a downward dive. A small glance behind me showed me that the beast was following us. _Good, now she's persistent. _I glanced down at the tail, and saw that there was almost nothing left anymore.

'Uh, Hicca…'

"Stay with me, buddy," I told him, trying to stay calm. "We're good, just a little bit longer."

But even then I had a bad feeling building up in my chest. I could feel the dragons' putrid breath blowing hard on my back. She just had to get a little closer.

"Hold, Toothless…" I closed my eyes and held my breath, and… "NOW!"

Toothless whipped around so he was facing the dragon, who had her large mouth open. A second later, he shot a plasma blast so it went down the monsters' throat, igniting its gas from the inside. The dragon growled and choked, obviously in pain from the fire burning it's inside of her. Within a few seconds we finally passed through the clouds. I turned my head down and saw the ground come into focus as we continued to head towards it. Suddenly I heard a loud ripping sound and I looked up. The dragon had opened its wings in an attempt to float down, but thanks to Toothless' plasma blasts, large holes began ripping into the wings as though they were made of thin fabric.

'Hold on!' I heard Toothless yell.

He turned around, looking as though he was trying to dive back to the beach. But the force of the wind caused by the beast and her roars somehow pushed us off course and we ended up spinning back up. There was a loud _KABOOM_, and the sound of fire exploding. I didn't need to look back to know that the dragon had just face-planted into the mountain. But I did look back when I suddenly felt a lot of heat on my back. I turned around to see the fire from the explosion was growing, and coming right at us.

"Toothless, we have to get out of here!" I yelled.

'I'm trying!' he called back, and he really meant it.

We were now racing through the spike on the dragons' back, dodging them left and right. I constantly shifted my foot on the petal, desperate for it to work until we got to safety. _Please work, please work… _But then a loud cracking sound snapped in the air. I gasped and whipped my head around. The tail wasn't just on fire anymore; it was completely gone. It had fallen off. I held my breath as I turned my head back in front of me, but that didn't make things any better. The dragons' large tail was just above us, and was coming down at us fast.

'Hicca, I can't move!' Toothless screamed.

But I couldn't respond. This couldn't be happening! There was no way for us to turn, no way to avoid it.

"No…"

I blinked, and suddenly the large tail was right in front of us.

"NO-"

There was a sudden stab of pain, then a sickening crack, then a loud, frightened roar…

…and everything went black.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUHH! Of course, we all know this ends well, BUT STILL! I love leaving you on somewhat cliffhangers. You have and idea of what will be next, but you don't know what i'm up to. I could change the ending entirely. ...Okay, i'm not gonna do that, but you get what i mean. So, I'm pretty sure there's only gonna be two more chapters left, so keep an eye out for them. Bye!**


	16. Flashbacks

**O Lawd! Only Two More Days Left(where i am i have to wait till the 13th of June. I've heard it's different for others)! I'M STOKED! I've already made plans with my boyfriend to go on Sunday. I wanted to ON FRIDAY, but he's at church camp until Friday _and_ I have ACT test on Saturday. So...I'M SEEING IT SUNDAY, BITCHEZ!**

**...**

**Anyways! I've finally got the next chapter here for yah. I'm gonna say this now, if i do get the last chapter in before the 13th, it'll probably be at like midnight or something. Or i might not get it until Saturday. But, until then, ENJOY! OH, and just so you're not confused, this next bit is a bunch of flashbacks from Toothless' P.O.V., and he goes through them all while he's passed out after escaping the fire and all. Just thought I'd let you know.**

Thoughts  
_**Sound effects  
**__Normal_

* * *

Ch. 16  
Flashbacks

Toothless' P.O.V.

_Fear. That was all I could feel, all I could know. In this moment, nothing but fear was with me as I watched the female human come towards me with her dagger. Before I fully saw her I could tell she was female by her sent, and when I got a good look at her face, I saw I was right. Not only that, I was very surprised when I saw her. By now I had come to accept the fact that some lucky human was good enough to take down a Night Fury like me, that I could manage to deal with. But when I had imagined the human who had done so, I hadn't imagined…this! For some reason, I thought my captor would be male, but that wasn't what shocked me. What did shock me most was the way this female looked. She was short, much shorter than the other females I had caught glimpses of in the human village. Not to mention she was a little boney, like she hadn't eaten for weeks. Maybe even a month! Plus, I could look at her and tell that she was intimidated and pushed around very easily. She was what you might call a runt- a 'hiccup,' I think is what the Vikings called them. Never in my right mind did I ever think that a human like this would ever be able to shoot down a dragon like me. But, I could tell by the look on her face that this was, in fact, the human that had shot me down._

"_You?" I had said when she appeared, but I knew that she would only be able to hear growls. "You're the one that hit me?"_

_Now, I was having mixed feelings at this point; first I was surprised by this human and how she looked, but, like I said, all I was feeling right now was fear. What was her plan? What was she intending to do now? I then wanted to slap myself with my own tail for even asking that. I knew full well what she was going to do. She might be a runt, but she's clearly still a Viking. I can tell just by smelling her; smoke, and the hot metal of swords and ax's. The only place she could get a sent like that was in the Viking village. And if she was raised by Vikings, then I knew she had only one thing left in mind for me as I lay here, tied up and defenseless._

"_I'm gonna kill you dragon," she said in a low voice. "I'm gonna…I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. Because…because I'm a Viking… I'M A VIKING!"_

_But even with her yelling at me, something was telling me she was trying to convince someone other than me of this fact. I felt myself let out a choking sound as I looked up at her._

"_Don't do this, please… I don't wanna die…"_

_I don't know why I was asking her, I knew she would never listen, but I didn't want to just lay down and take it. That wasn't me! I craved life, I wanted life! The human, of course, ignored me as she closed her eyes and raised the dagger high. I flinched slightly, for I had thought that she would plunge it down right then. But, she didn't. After a second she then opened her eyes, and I was surprised to see her look into mine. Then suddenly her expression changed into something I couldn't understand. I held my breath, not knowing what was going on. Why was she staring at me like that? Like she had seen something incredible? She shook her head and lifted her dagger higher, apparently concentrating. _It's over, _I told myself. _There's nothing you can do… You're done… _I let out a weak moan and I closed my eyes as I tossed my head to the ground. _

"_Just make it quick, please…"_

_There was a few seconds of silence, broken only by the distant noises of the wildlife. Then there was a low sigh…_

"_I did this…"_

"_Yes, okay? You did it!" I groaned. "Just stop gloating and finish it already!"_

_Gods, what else does this girl want? She already shot me down and was about to kill me, what else could she possible need? Then, from just ahead of me, I heard her groan._

"_I'm gonna regret this…"_

_What? Why the hell would you regret any of this? You're having the 'honor' of being the first Viking to-_

_But suddenly I heard something slide up to me, and then I felt one of the ropes be pulled up. There was a pause, then suddenly loud scratching sound; like rope being cut. My eyes snapped open and I looked back. Just out the corner of my eye, I could see the human girl… and she was cutting my ropes! She was actually cutting my restraints! She was…setting me free… At that moment I felt the rope around my legs loosen, and I shifted them. Just one more rope, and I'm home free. _As soon as they're all off you get out of here, _I told myself. _Leave the human and get away! _But something was telling me that it was going to happen differently than that._

_There was a loud __**snap**__ as the last rope was finally cut, and it happened. My instincts took over my mind and suddenly I pounced on the girl, my paw coming up to her throat as I pinned her to a large rock. Instantly the girl started gasping, sounding like she had run for miles. She looked up at me, her mouth agape as she continued to breath heavily, looking much more terrified than she did before. I leaned in a little, my eyes still locked with hers. But in that moment, I didn't just see a terrified human girl… I saw myself. I saw my own fear reflected back to me on the face of the human who had shot me down and was about to kill me. But, she also set me free. She's allowed me to live, which is something no Viking as ever done. But, why would she do that for me? _Why?! _Was this the reason? Did she see my fear the way I saw hers now? Did she look into my eyes, see how terrified I was, and realize that she couldn't kill me? But still…why?! It's not as if I should matter to her! Gods, all of this made me so confused, and that made me angry. So angry that I wanted to blast something into oblivion. Unfortunately, there was something in my way that I currently didn't want to destroy._

_The girl had stopped panting and was now staring widely up at me. She looked as though she were surprised to even be alive. But I was still mad. I started to growl as I reared my head back. The girl closed her eyes as she turned her head away in fear. I took a deep breath…_

"_GO HOME!" I screamed._

_I barley gave her another glance before I quickly got off her and leaped away. I raised my wings and had attempted to fly off, but as soon as I was lifted into the air I could feel that something was…off. No matter how many times I tried I couldn't fly straight, and I didn't know why. I groaned irritably and looked all over myself, checking to see if everything was okay. Feet are okay, wings aren't damaged, my tail is… I froze, almost dumbstruck by what I saw. My left tailfin…it was gone. That must have been what that pain was when I was hit by the humans' weapon._

_The human had taken my ability to fly… my life was over…_

* * *

_I was slumped in front of the pond, already exhausted. I had just spent all day trying to get out of this godforsaken cove, but to no avail. I couldn't fly, so flying out was obviously not an option. I had attempted to escape by crawling up the rocks, but all that happened was I slipped and fell right off them and onto my back. Painfully. I groaned, looking hopelessly around the cove. I couldn't see any other way out of this place. I couldn't climb out so the only option was to fly, but I couldn't. Never again…_

_**Clatter!**_

_My ears perked up as I heard a strange noise, like wood falling against rock. Curiously, I lifted my head up to look around. It didn't look like anything was out of place or unusual. But then my gaze went passed the cave that was the only other way into the cove, and I froze._

_It was her. The human girl who freed me yesterday. She was sitting there, right on the edge of the entrance. She saw me looking at her and she froze as well. Well, this is certainly something. I never thought I'd see this girl again after what happened yesterday. And yet, here she was, right where I am. Curiosity started to build up inside me as I suddenly started to purr a little. I couldn't help it. I always purred a little when I was curious. It was just a habit I've had for years now. The girl sat back on her knees, and tilted her head to the side. Instantly, I did the same. She blinked at me, looking surprised. Then, she slowly raised one of her hands, and waved. My ears perked completely and my purring grew louder. When it did, I saw her lips pull back into a smile._

_I couldn't help but stare in amazement. First she waved, then she smiled. Was she happy about this? Happy about my presence? A second later I saw her lean forward and look down below her. Her brows furrowed. She appeared to be irritated at something; perhaps whatever she was looking at? I sighed, feeling my curiosity starting to get to me. I slowly got up and started to make my way over, making sure not to startle the girl. When I was a few feet away from the edge she finally looked over to see me. She gasped, sitting back quickly. I stopped walking, staring up at her. She didn't scream and she didn't run away, she just sat there, watching me. Seeing that she wasn't going to do anything I lowered my head back down, and that's when I saw it. It appeared to be a small stick of charcoal sharpened to a point. I leaned down and sniffed it. Aside from the obvious sent of coal, there was a second sent added to it. After sniffing the air a little I discovered it to be the girls' sent. This thing must be hers, and she must have dropped it. Then, why didn't she just come down and get it?_

It's because she's afraid of you, idiot! _said a voice in my head._

_I rolled my eyes. Of course she wouldn't come get it herself. The last time she was anywhere near me I screamed so loud I might have made her deaf. I looked down at the piece of coal, and sighed. Shrugging, I leaned down and picked the coal with my jaws. I lifted my head up to look at the girl, wondering what to do. She blinked several times, looking more surprised than before. Not waiting for anything else I slowly started to walk forward, crawling up a little on the tall rocks that led up to the edge, stopping when I was halfway up. I reared my head back and flung it forward, tossing the coal up. I heard it land with a loud clatter on the stone floor of the entrance. The girl slowly leaned forward and picked up the thing. She looked at it, then stared down at me. I sat there, waiting for something, but I didn't know what. Did I expect her to say thank you or something? The girl stood up on her feet, and my eyes followed her. Then she gave a small nod, as though saying 'thank you'. I blinked, feeling surprised, but surprisingly pleased. Slowly, her gaze not leaving mine, she slowly began to back away until she was out of sight._

* * *

_I sat quietly on my perch as I watched the girl walk steadily into the cove. From here I could see her holding a large fish by its gills. Oh, just the sent of that thing made me want to pounce out and grab it. But I knew better. If I just jumped out of nowhere what would the girl do? Probably faint or something. I crawled up a little, trying to get a better look. Unfortunately, I must have made some noise because the girl stopped walking, suddenly very still. She slowly turned around and she gasped as her eyes fell onto me. _Well, can't hide anymore, _I thought._

_Moving slow so not to scare her too much, I started to crawl down the perch of rocks I had been on. As my paws hit the ground I sniffed the air, and the smell of the fish hit me with the force of a hammer. I swallowed the saliva building in my mouth, and I growled a little._

"_What do you want?"_

_I knew it was pointless to talk to her, I knew she couldn't understand me. But it was better than just making pointless noises at her. The girl gulped, then she slowly raised her hand and waved like she did yesterday._

"_H-hi…"_

_I blinked as I felt my ears go up. Not only did she greet me like she did before, she actually spoke to me. Her voice was surprisingly low and sweet, even for a girl. But it sounded gentle, nonetheless. I looked at her for another second before my gaze fell down to the fish, and I felt my mouth start to water again. I suddenly remembered how hungry I was. I had not been able to eat since I got stuck in this cove. The girl looked at me for a moment, then she looked at the fish._

"_Oh, r-right."_

_She then held the fish out to me. I stared at her, hardly able to believe it. She brought it for me? Really? Before I knew what I was doing I slowly made my way towards her, starting to open my mouth. But just as I was about to grab the fish I saw something shimmer beneath the girls' brown fur vest. _She's got a dagger! She's tricking me! _I jumped back and hissed at her._

"_What do you think you're doing?!"_

_The girl stepped back, looking surprised. Then her hand came up and pulled her vest open, revealing the small dagger attached to her. I growled at her, and when she started to reach for it I hissed at her again._

"_Don't even think about it!"_

"_I'm dropping it!"_

_I blinked in surprise. Before I could react the girl had already taken the dagger out of her waist band, held it out to her side, and dropped it. She was true to her word, but it wasn't enough. I shook my head, and then snapped it to the side._

"_Get rid of it."_

_As though she could understand me, the girl slipped her foot under the dagger, lifted it up and tossed it into the pond. I looked at the pond, then at the girl… _Alright, then. _I sat back up, feeling much more relaxed now that the girl was unarmed. She stared at me, then held the fish back out._

"_Y-you still want it?" she asked me._

_I blinked at her, then looked at the fish. I was still a little suspicious, but the sent of the fish and the low rumbling feeling in the pit of my stomach was egging me on. I took a deep breath before slowly crawling over to her. I stopped about a foot away and opened my mouth. But instead of just tossing the fish in, the girl peered inside, looking curious._

"_Wow. Toothless…" she muttered. "Funny. I thought you had-"_

Oh, come on already! _I forced my teeth back out of their gums before snatching the fish away. I quickly munched on the fish, swallowing it in two bits. I licked my lips, enjoying the feeling of food being in my stomach after days of it being empty._

"…_teeth."_

_My eyes snapped down at the girl. She was looking up at me, looking a little tense. It was then that I noticed that she didn't seemed to have anymore fish on her. I crouched down and started to walk forward, looking all over her, sniffing to find more fish._

"_Uh, no. No no…!"_

_The girl looked like she was starting to panic, looking scared at my advances. She held her hands out a little, quickly stepping away. But after a few steps she tripped and fell down. She hurriedly continued to back up, but she was forced to stop once her back hit the surface of the rock. I took a few more steps forward, not realizing my face was a little too close to hers._

"_Don't you have anymore?" I asked, looking her up and down._

"_I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, sounding terrified. "I don't have a-anymore."_

_I stared in disbelief. She brought enough fish to feed me, but brought none for herself? I mean, she was already so thin to begin with, the least she could do is have one fish to eat. Sure, it was nice to give someone your food, but not when you had nothing for yourself. I groaned, having a feeling on what I was going to do. I started to make my stomach turn, trying to force the fish back up. Once I felt it at the base of my throat I quickly began to hack it up. Once it was in my mouth I opened my jaws and finally spat the fish out onto the girls' lap._

"_Eww…"_

_I ignored her moan and sat back in front of her. She hesitated for a moment before picking the fish up. She stared up at me, looking confused. Did she not know she was suppose to eat it? Had no one else ever given her fish before?_

"_Go on, eat it," I said, nodding down at the fish._

_The girl looked at the fish, then at me, then sighed. She lifted the fish up to her face, hesitated, then took a bite out of it. I grinned a little. She nodded, raising the fish a little, as though trying to say it was good. But the bulge in her cheek told me that she hadn't swallowed it yet._

"_Now swallow," I said, and I mimicked swallowing._

_The girl's arms fell, and she gave me a look that said 'are you kidding me?!' Then she grunted, and finally swallowed. For some reason she seemed to have trouble, but it soon went down her throat. She shuddered, looking up at me. I licked my lips, trying to ask if it was okay. But all she did was smile. I squinted at her. Her smile looked a little forced, not to mention awkward, but she continued to smile anyway. Not knowing what to do, I looked up at her and slowly pulled my lips back to form a just as awkward smile. The girls' smile fell slightly as she stared in amazement._

"_Are you…trying to smile?" she asked._

_I nodded, still smiling at her._

"_Wow…"_

Is it really that fascinating that I'm smiling? _I asked myself. _I mean, has she never seen a happy dragon? …Nah, probably not. _The girl set the fish down on the ground beside her, wiping her hands on her cloths. She shifted herself so that she was sitting on her knees. She stayed still for a moment, then she lifted her hand and started to reach towards me._

"_What do you think you're doing?" I snapped. "You can't just pet me, I barley know you!"_

_I growled at her, feeling my teeth shoot back out. Then I raised my wings and pushed myself up, gliding all the way to the other side of the cove. Once I landed I shook my head. _Honestly, what was she thinking? _I opened my mouth and shot fire on the ground, creating a warm circular area to sleep on. I patted my paws on it before finally laying down. At that moment I heard some chirping. I looked up to see a small bird standing in it's nest, then suddenly take off. _Enjoy it while you still can, little guy, _I thought sadly as I followed the bird as it flew away. I turned my head to follow it more, but as I did my gaze fell down to something more distracting. The girl was sitting there, her legs crossed, only a few feet away from me. When she saw me look at her, she waved._

"_Don't mind me," she said, sounding sweet._

_I groaned as I rested my head on the ground, shifting myself so my tail and wings were covering me._

"_You're persistent, I'll give yah that," I said. "I don't mind you sitting here, but I'd really like to sleep now, please."_

_There was a few moments of silence. Then I heard soft shifting sounds from somewhere nearby. _She's trying to touch me again, isn't she? _Sure enough, when my tail and wing shot up I saw her sitting only a foot away, arm outstretched._

"_I said I'm sleeping!"_

_The girl jumped to her feet and quickly shuffled away, looking embarrassed. I groaned as I got up to look for another spot to have my nap._

_I don't know how long I slept for. All I know is when I finally woke up it was sunset. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. I turned my head unconsciously to the side, and was surprised to see the girl sitting over on a rock. _She's still here…_ I slowly got down from the tree branch I was hanging from and landed on the ground. Moving quietly so I wouldn't scare her, I slowly made my way towards where she was sitting. She appeared to be holding a stick and moving it around in the dirt. Maybe she drawing or something? I slowly creped up behind her, looked over her shoulder, and saw…myself! She was drawing a picture of me, and it looked great! I followed her hands movements as she began to draw my ears and my eyes, and I found myself cooing at the very sight._

"_Wow, you're very talented," I said._

_Then I got an idea. I stood up and shuffled over to the tree I had been sleeping on. I reached up and grabbed a large branch with my jaws, wiggling it around until it finally came off. I quickly brought it over to where the girl was, and brought it to the ground. I began to drag it around, cutting it through the dirt with ease. I wasn't necessarily trying to make a certain shape, but I was definitely having fun. And it was kind of funny seeing the girl stare at me, probably thinking 'what the hell is this dragon doing?' One time when I came up from behind her though, I had accidentally hit her with the leafy part of the branch. I heard her wince and I looked around. She didn't appear to be hurt so I continued my work. After a few more turns I finally stopped. I dropped the branch and looked at my work, giving a small nod._

"_Perfect."_

_The girl stood up, staring at the maze-like structure I had created. She started to walk forward and she stepped on a line._

"_Don't do that!" I snapped._

_The girl flinched. I started growling, trying to get her to get off. She looked down at her feet, then lifted her foot off the line. I stopped growling and started purring._

"_Thank you."_

_The girl looked at me, then at the ground. She stepped on the line again, and I growled. She stepped off, and I purred. She stepped on it again, and I growled as I crouched down slightly. _

"_Don't make me pounce! I swear, I will!"_

_But even as I said that, for some reason I knew I wouldn't. But it didn't matter, for this time the girl moved her foot up, then stepped over the line. I sat up, purring even more._

"_That's better."_

_The girl looked up at me, and smiled sweetly. I smiled back at her. Then she looked down as she continuously stepped over all the lines. She turned left, right, stepped backwards and forwards. She paused for a moment, looking around._

"_Come on, you're almost there…"_

_She nodded and continued walking all around. Finally, after taking one more step backwards, she was right in front of me. I let out a huge breath, ruffling her hair. She froze for a moment before turning around, staring up at me._

"_Congratulations, you made it out."_

_The girl, of course, didn't respond in any way. She stared at me and I stared back at her; into her deep, forest green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the low sunlight. She blinked, and then she started to lift her hand like she did earlier. I flinched, growling lowly._

"_I wouldn't do that."_

_The girl drew her hand back slightly, and I stopped growling. I looked at her for a moment._

"…_Why should I trust you enough for something like that?"_

_The girl turned her face away from me, apparently thinking. Then she closed her eyes, turned her head away, and stretched her hand back out to me. I didn't growl this time. I don't I could even if a wanted to. I was so shocked and surprised that I didn't do anything at that moment. She completely trusted me. She pretty much just put her life in my paws. I knew this girl wasn't stupid. I could tell that she knew what I was capable of. She knew that I could end her life right here right now if I wanted to, which I didn't, but she knew I could. And yet, she had turned her back on me to show how much she trusted me. My gaze fell forward, onto the soft, peach-skinned hand in front of me. _You trust me… _I took a deep breath, then slowly leaned forward until her hand connected with my snout. _So I trust you…

_It was as though something just sparked; like a small flame had flared in a pile of cold ashes. Something powerful seemed to flow from her hand to me, and then back again. Never in my life have I ever felt something like this before. And as I nuzzled my snout with the girls' soft palm, I could never remember feeling more peaceful in my life. When we first connected I felt the girl tense up slightly, then quickly calm down. Then I heard her breath, almost barley a whisper._

"_Wow…"_

_I stayed put for a few more tender seconds before I broke away, and I opened my eyes. The girl was staring at me, eyes wide with amazement. I sat there, wondering what to do. She did get that I trusted her now, right? I wish there was a way to make sure. …But there was. There was one way to tell her and show her I trusted her. _But will it work? _I asked myself. _I mean, it's natural for dragons, but will it work on humans? _Well, there was only one way to find out. So, taking a deep breath, I concentrated hard as I looked deep into the girls eyes._

'_I have decided to trust you, human.'_

_The girl gasped, and I felt myself smile. _It works!

* * *

_The girl came back again today. I had just been taking a small nap when her loud footsteps woke me up. I'll admit, I was a little surprised when I saw her, but I didn't mind so much. She was timid at first, not even bothering to sit down or anything. I was confused, for I thought that after everything that happened yesterday would prove that she had nothing to be afraid of. But then, maybe she wasn't afraid, maybe she was just shy or something. So, I just smiled and told her to sit. I wanted to be nice so that she wouldn't feel so shy or anything. She had a small bag with her, and I soon found out that there was fish inside it. More fish she had brought for me! I remember telling her how kind she was to do that, even saying thank you. She had looked surprised, but not too much. I had leaned close so she could give me the fish. She had giggled a little bit before dropping it into my mouth. What was so funny? Then I remembered my retractable teeth. Where they really that funny. _Well, _I thought. _I suppose since I'm the only dragon who can do that, I guess it's a little amusing.

_Once I had eaten the fish she had asked me if she was crazy. Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about, so I just asked what she meant. She had asked whether or not this was real, and that I was actually talking to her. Can you believe it? I didn't, and it made me laugh. Once I told her that she wasn't crazy I explained that dragons had always been able to do that, that it was our only way of communicating. She had looked very surprised when I told her that I didn't know if another dragon had ever talked to a human, but I just acted like it was nothing. I mean, I had never heard of another dragon having a conversation with a human before, but I'm sure it had to have been attempted at some point, right? After that I remember telling her my name, then laughing my ass of when she had attempted to actually say it. Gods, humans should never try to speak Dragonese, not unless they're trying to make us laugh. But it was kind of cute watching her try to speak it, and I'll admit she was pretty close it getting it. I discovered what her name was after that. Her name was Hicca. Albeit, an odd name, but that's probably because I had never heard it before. But still, I thought it was a pretty name. She looked surprised when I told her this, but thanked me all the same._

_After we discovered each others names is when Hicca started asking me questions. Lots of them. There was so many things she wanted to know. What's the difference between males and females(besides the obvious, of course)? Can all dragons communicate telepathically? There were a lot of things she had to ask. I had absolutely not problem answering them, and she seemed so delighted with my answers. Man, the look on her face was great. She was actually very easy and wonderful to talk to, and it was nice._

_I remember when she said she had to go I couldn't help but feel a little down. I was really enjoying her company. It was certainly better than sitting in this cove by myself, that's for sure. But before she left she did something I did not expect; she named me. Since she couldn't say my name, she had decided to give me a new one. Now, I knew she would never be able to say my name, so I had no problem with it. But then I heard what she wanted to call me. She had decided to call me 'Toothless.' Very strange, I know. But, once she told me it was because of my retractable teeth it made more sense to me. But still, I never thought she would call me something like that. But she looked so hopeful at being able to call me that, that I finally caved in. I had allowed her to call me that, and the smile she had given me made me feel surprisingly lighter._

* * *

_I was a little curious when I saw Hicca walking towards me with a huge basket on her back and some strange-looking thing under her arm, but I didn't think anything of it. I just stretched, yawned, and greeting her normally. She said she had brought me breakfast, and I did a double-take as I stared at her. She had dumped the whole basket in front of me, and a whole bunch of fish spilled out everywhere. I had been excited until I had heard that there was an eel in the pile. I admit, I could've handled it better than just screaming at the thing, but I couldn't help it. I knew a dragon who was so cocky that he actually ate an eel once, he was never the same towards them afterward. Hicca was upset that she brought the eel, but I couldn't blame her. I didn't tell her about the eel thing, so it wasn't her fault. Then she just laughed, admitting that she never liked eels either. That made me smile a little._

_I then turned my attention back to the fish, not hesitating to starting eating it all up. The few fish Hicca had first given me was enough for me to not starve, but it wasn't nearly enough to be called a proper meal. But as I ate I could see Hicca stepping back behind me. She was muttering under her breath, apparently not aware that I could hear her. I ignored her and continued eating. It was when she had started messing around with my tail that I finally stopped. After having a minor disagreement about messing with my tail she find out I could hear her thoughts. I mean, when I talk to her she's basically just hearing my thoughts, so why can't I hear hers? I had stuck my head inside the basket, looking for more fish when it happened. When Hicca was messing with my tail something felt…right. Like something lost was now recovered._

_My tail…_

_I did not hesitate to launch myself into the air, completely forgetting that Hicca was still on my tail. I couldn't believe what I had just experienced. For a few short moments I thought I was actually flying again. I had thought that me descending towards the ground at first was just from me not flying for five days. Once I had suddenly gone back up, everything changed. I was back! I was in the air! I was _flying_! But when I had heard Hicca's voice I turned to see that she was…on my tail?!_

"_Hicca! What are you doing up here? You'll hurt yourself!"_

_And like a fool I had tossed her off my tail and into the pond. But as soon as she left me I saw that the thing I thought was a tailfin had become faulty, which caused me to fall in the pond as well. Though I was slightly disappointed I was not at all mad. Whatever Hicca had done it had made me fly again, even if it was for a few seconds. After getting her out of the water I asked her what it was, and she said it was a new tail. A tail she had made for me the night before. I stood there, shocked and surprised. Did she really do that? Then when I looked back at my tail I discovered it to be broken from my fall. I was upset, but Hicca then told me that it was a prototype, and that it wasn't suppose to last forever._

"_You'll be back in the air in no time," she had said. "I promise."_

_The moment I heard those words was the moment I stopped breathing. I stared transfixed at the human girl in front of me. It was amazing enough that she had fed me and started to become my friend, now she was promising me to give back what I had lost. Once the shock wore off I was overcome with joy. Like an excited hatchling I had practically pounced onto Hicca, thanked her wonderfully, and then started lapping at her face. She didn't seem to mind much, but soon after it had started to make her laugh. I gave her one long lick to her cheek before I finally stopped. Though she teased me about how gross it was, she was still smiling widely as she wiped my saliva off her face. I couldn't help it, I was too happy to contain myself. And, like I had said, it was really fun making her laughed._

You know, she looks kinda cute when she laughs, _I thought to myself._

* * *

_A saddle? That was Hicca's solution? Now, I know she said that she would have to stay on me so she could keep the tail open, then I could fly, and I can live with that. But does she have to have a saddle? I'm dragon, not a horse._

But what if something should happen to her in the air? _said a voice in my head. _She'll have nothing to hold onto, and she'll just fall down…

_I had shaken that thought from my head immediately, deciding that maybe I could live with the saddle. But still, she had left me alone for _five whole days_! So, instead of cooperating immediately, I decided to have some fun. So, I forced Hicca to chase me all over the entire cove. It was very fun, we must have circled the entire thing at least three or four times! I stopped however when I heard something hit the ground with a loud __**thud**__! I had turned and was shocked to see Hicca on the ground, laying on her stomach. I was worried that she might be hurt so I ran up and asked if she was alright. She said she was okay, that she just knocked the wind out of her._

"_It's not the first time I've fallen. I'm kind of clumsy, believe it or not."_

Could've fooled me, _I thought shortly. After that Hicca had put the saddle on me, making sure everything was secure, but not too tight. I'll admit, it was a little strange to have something strapped on me like that, but it wasn't too uncomfortable and I could get used to it. I was still a bit concerned for Hicca. I mean, she designed the thing, but what if something goes wrong. I told her of my concern, and after looking shocked then shy she assured me that everything would be fine. So I just shrugged and waited for her to get on. When we had first shot into the air Hicca yelped like a frightened child, but she was fine after a few moments. She had opened the tail and we flew straight(for the most part). But when she tried to turn us- I don't know how she did it, it somehow threw me off course so I went to the side and fell into the water. I remember swimming back up to the surface to see if Hicca was okay, only to find her cursing at the sky like it was no big deal._

_After that I decided to have some more fun with her. So I snuck under the water just as she turned around. I swam a few feet under the surface, Hicca's voice muffled by the water. I smirked and swam quickly under her, watching her feet kick to keep her afloat. _3...2...1! _With as much force as I could muster, I pushed myself up towards her. My head hit her before it broke the surface, and I heard her yelp before she landed back on my head. I looked up at her as she placed her hands on my head, and I tried to keep myself from laughing at the look on her face. The next five minutes consisted of me and Hicca playing around in the water before I asked her for a 'truce,' to which she responded by calling me a stupid reptile. And I called her a silly human._

* * *

_I laid down inside my cave, ready for a good night's sleep. After all the test runs today and the incident at the village I was a little exhausted. I was a little happy that it ended on a good note thanks to mine and Hicca's conversation, so I had a clear conscience. As I laid my head down I turned my head to look at Hicca, and blinked. She was laying on her back, sprawled on the ground. I stared as I lifted my head. When I asked her what she was doing out there she said she was just trying to sleep. Then I told her that it was cold out there, and that she should at least sleep in the cave. She seemed a little shy, but with tired eyes and a slumped figure, she made her way into the cave._

_But even as she came in I could feel the wind blowing into the cave. Of course, with me being a dragon and being able to control fire I barley felt it, but I knew that Hicca might be affected more than me. So, as she started to sit down I leaned back and opened my wing up. She stared at me before I told her to come over. She seemed surprised at me telling her to do so, but after telling her about the cold she seemed to give it some thought. Eventually she came over and sat against my side. I smiled at her before gently closing my wing on her to keep her warm._

'_Don't be so nervous,' I said gently after seeing her surprised look. 'You have no reason to be. I'm only being friendly.'_

_I smiled down at her, and she soon smiled back. I continued to look down at her even as she closed her eyes and laid her head down on my side. I didn't know if I was smiling or staring blankly, but I was certainly feeling happy. I truly felt that I couldn't be happier if this night had ended differently. It wasn't just because I wasn't alone tonight, but rather how I felt about tonight. I just felt so honored to have her with me. I mean, why wouldn't I? Hicca's amazing, she's incredible, she's…so beautiful… I smiled as I leaned over and licked her cheek with the end of my tongue. It wasn't like the other times I had licked her, either. Those times all my licks were playful, but this…it was what you might call a 'dragon kiss.'_

'_Goodnight, Hicca.'_

"_Mm…night, buddy," she breathed as she nuzzled against me._

Gods, why does this girl have to be so cute?!

* * *

Okay, stay calm, _I told myself. _And stay focused, and don't kill yourself… _From behind my I heard Hicca inhale sharply, but she quickly calmed herself. She patted my head, telling me to take it slow, and I agreed. I waited as she got my tail into position, and my flying eased up a bit. After gliding around a bit we pulled up to two tall stone pillars. Determined to pass through them safely, I held my face forward and flew between them after that we were fine, until Hicca flew us into another stone pillar. Twice. I smacked her face with my ear, but other than that I didn't do anything. She ignored me and switched to another position and I felt her pull the saddle up. I tilted up and started to fly higher and higher into the air. I heard Hicca yell out in triumph, and I couldn't help but join in. I mean, how could I not? After almost two months of simple test runs over the island I'm finally in the open air, ready to fly for real-_

_But then I heard Hicca yell 'STOP,' and I instantly stopped flapping my wings. I thought it was just some kind of test so I thought nothing of it. When I looked up and saw Hicca floated above me and not hooked up to the saddle, then I started to panic. But I barley had time to scream before I started falling down. Hicca screamed to, flailing her arms around in an attempt to grab me. It did not help at all when I accidentally hit her with my wing. But as soon as she recovered she instantly started to kick through the air, trying to get to me. I used my wings to push myself towards her, helping her to get back on. Soon I heard the soft click as Hicca hooked her harness to the saddle. I would've relaxed even for a bit if we weren't still falling. We cut through the thick fog that surrounded the forest, and I whipped my wings out so we wouldn't crash into the trees. We roughly dove down above the trees, and I let out a loud, piercing roar. The fog in front of us started to fade I could see we were closing in on a heavy maze of rocks shooting up out of the water. There was no way to avoid them, we were going to crash!_

_Suddenly Hicca changed the positions and started moving us around, completely missing the rocks. The whole time I could hear her thoughts going, _Left, right, center, left, spiral around that rock, that's it! _No matter where we went we ended up okay, and we didn't hit a thing. Within no time we made it out of the rocks and we were finally safe. _Wow…that was amazing! _I thought happily. Hicca was clearly on the same page as me, because as I looked up I saw her punch her fists in the air as she yelled in triumph. No longer able to contain myself now, I let out a small screech as I blasted a small blast of fire in celebration. I didn't even care that we were about to pass through the fireball it had turned into. But somebody did._

"_Ooh, come on…" Hicca moaned._

_But I was still smiling even as we passed through it._

* * *

_It was a crazy move, I'll admit it. I never would've thought I would actually revel my secret to Hicca, even if she was by best friend. I had told myself when I first started to tell her about dragons that I wouldn't tell her, for I had no idea how she would react. But, she did something that made me change my mind. Despite being scared, she had confessed to me the truth about the Viking classes she had been having. She was being trained to fight dragons. I could see why she would be worried, but…she had actually started crying after she had told me. The only thing I could do was comfort her by hugging her. But that wasn't all. In that moment, I felt what I had felt the night before when she slept in the cave next to me. Happiness, and something else I couldn't explain. After thinking about it for a moment, I finally came to the realization of what it was. Affection. I had affectionate feelings for Hicca. I had feelings for a human. I should feel baffled by this, or maybe insane. But I wasn't. I felt…happy that liked her. Maybe I even…loved her… But how would it be possible? I'm still a dragon, and she's a human. It couldn't work, could it? But, then again, dragons weren't fully animal, were we?_

_I had made my decision. So, after telling her to close her eyes, I closed my wings around me and concentrated hard. It had been a few years since I had even tried to change my form, since I never had any need for it I never really used it. But now, when I was telling her about me and possible my feelings, I had to show her. Within a few seconds I finally changed completely. I told her to look and when she did, she did something I didn't expect. She stared at me, completely silent. It wasn't until I spoke to her that she gasped, and I knew that she knew it was me. She stood there for a moment before she walked up to me…and started to touch my face. She just seemed so fascinated by my form that it was amusing to me. She mostly just touched and examined the scales on my face, neck, and to my surprise she started to touch the ones that led to my now human chest. I was going to say something but she suddenly blushed and snatched her hand away. After that she asked how it was possible for me to change my form. I knew that that was coming, but it didn't make it easier. But she deserved the truth, so eventually I sat down and told her everything. I told her about how when we were first created we were able to turn fully human, how we lived in peace with humans for centuries before we were cursed to be dragon humanoids, and how we almost never use our other form these days._

_She was fascinated by my story, but her mood soon changed as it ended. When I told her about the part when the dragons were basically banished from any human environments she looked so surprised, even heartbroken. She practically flung herself onto me as she hugged me. I wasn't complaining though, and I gladly hugged her back. She told me that she believed my story, and that someday things could and will change. When I asked her how she was sure, she said she was sure because she was my friend before she knew, and she was still my friend now. That made me even more happy, and all I did was hold her closer to me. We sat there for a moment before Hicca finally spoke. She asked if there was another reason why I changed. _Well, I'm caught. _I said yes, and she pushed me to go on and say it. But, I could say it, I had to _show _it. So, not wanting to disobey her, I slowly leaned over until I was only a few inches away from her face. I rested my hands on either of her sides of the ground next to her own hands. I took a deep breath, and looked deep into her beautiful green eyes._

"_Hicca, do you think… Is it possible for a dragon to…fall for a human?"_

"_I-I…I don't know…"_

"_Well, I do…because I already did."_

_With that said, I was no longer able to stop myself. Slowly, I grabbed her hand, held her face and leaned in close, pressing my now human lips against her own. I felt her tense up, but I ignored it and moved my lips as I finally kissed her. The second my lips moved I was in heaven, and all my doubts had finally faded away. It was bliss, not to think, not to worry as I kissed the first girl I had ever had feelings for, and it was even better after she started to kiss me back. I felt her slim fingers almost unconsciously curl around my own, and I held hers even tighter. _Oh Great Odin, I'm begging you, don't let this be a dream… _I thought airily. After what felt like hours she finally pulled away, gasping for air. I didn't blame her, I had to take a breath, too. I swallowed hard as I looked into her eyes and smiled softly. And, to my utmost joy, she smiled back at me._

* * *

_How could this happen? How could this end so badly? We showed that worthless 'queen' who was boss. We defeated her! Why couldn't we have just been able to get away from her stupid tail?!_

'_Hicca, I can't move!'_

_But she didn't respond. I don't think she could have even if she wanted to._

"_No…NO-"_

_But her yell was cut off as we smacked right into the bolder-like end of the tail. It hit my head with the force of a metal hammer, but other than that I was okay. I started spinning around, starting to head down. Why wasn't Hicca helping me or telling me what to do? I had my answer as I looked down. Hicca had been knocked off me when we hit the tail. Her figure was limp, her eyes were closed, and her mouth was slightly agape. She had been knocked out._

_Time seemed to slow down as I stared at her limp form. My heart was racing, my nerves were jumping, and my mind was completely fuzzy. For the first time in my life I was terrified, not for myself, but for the girl I was watching fall through the air. Yes, I was frightened for Hicca. The girl who shot me down and took away my ability to fly. The girl who set me free. The girl who brought me food every day. The girl who gave me all her trust. The girl who helped me fly again. The girl who became my best friend. The girl I fell in love with. The girl who risked her life to save mine. The girl who was now paying the price by falling down towards the still exploding fire…_

'_NO!_

_Without hesitating I tilted down and flapped my wings, pushing myself towards her form. I reached out in an attempt to grab her hands or her shirt, but they were too far away. I looked down to see her legs were closer, but not enough for me to grab with my paws. Knowing I would later regret it, I reached forward and grabbed her left leg with my mouth. But the second my jaws closed on it my teeth bit through something hard, and I tasted blood. I knew what that meant. I hated myself for what I had done, but I ignored it as I grabbed Hicca and pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her. At the moment I didn't care what I had done, anything was better than loosing all of her. I closed my eyes as we fell through the fire, and I quickly wrapped my wings around Hicca's form as I felt the overwhelming heat all around us. Before I could do anything my vision faded, and I finally blacked out…_

* * *

I became aware that I was finally starting to come to, because as soon as I did everything started to hurt. My whole body ached. Every limb and scale had some amount of pain added to it. Though I apparently had enough to regain somewhat consciousness, I didn't have the energy to open my eyes. All I could do was feel was the aching pain all over my body, my scales grinding against the rocky beach, and…something warm and small held against my chest.

"Hicca…!"

I heard a voice in the distance, calling out as though from a mile away. Suddenly everything that happened before I blacked out came back to me. Hicca had fallen after being hit by the Red Death's tail…and I caught her.

"Hicca…! Darling…!"

I groaned as I shifted my weight a little, my scales scraping the ground. When I moved I felt Hicca's figure move away slightly. I ignored the pain in my arms and held her tightly to my chest. Even if I couldn't immediately get up or move I didn't want to let her go. I couldn't. It was the very last thing I ever wanted to do. Suddenly I heard something fall on the ground in front of me.

"Oh, sweetheart… I did this…"

Even in my condition I felt I recognized that voice. I groaned, trying to lift my head and pain shot through it. I held my breath, and shook my head slightly. I moaned a little as my eyes fluttered open. My vision was nothing but a big blur of dark colors. I blinked several times, trying to clear my sight. Once it was starting to clear I saw someone kneeling in front of me. I looked up and saw who it was. It was Hicca's father, Stoick. He seemed to have notice me looking at him because a second later he glanced up at me. He had a look of despair on his face, and his eyes were swimming in tears. But at the same time he looked like he was holding something back.

'If you have something to say, you can say it,' I said gently.

He let out a shaky breath, tears starting to fall from his eyes and down his face. When he spoke, his voice was horribly cracked.

"I'm s…I'm so sorry…" he hung his head. "My daughter…my little girl…she's gone…"

My eyes widened slightly as I looked up at him. Now, I couldn't physically tell if Hicca was laying dead or alive in my arms, but I knew that she couldn't be dead. She just…couldn't.

'…I forgive you,' I said lowly. 'And I know she will, too.'

He looked up at me, looking confused. But instead of saying anything else I leaned back and unfolded my wings, revealing the hopefully unconscious Hicca cradled in my arms.

"Hicca!"

Stoick ran up, stretching his arms out for her. Even though I desperately wanted to hold on, I let him take her from me. He looked down at her and gently moved her bangs away from her eyes, trying to find any indication that she was alive. He frantically took off his helmet and threw it on the ground. Then he brought Hicca's chest up to his ear, trying to find a heartbeat. A second later he let out a noise that sounded like something between a laugh and a sob.

"Oh! She's alive!" he cried. "Yah brought her back alive!"

It was as though all the pain was relieved from my body. I was so happy and so thrilled to hear him say those words that I no longer cared about whatever condition I was in. From behind Stoick I could hear the sound of cheering from all the other Vikings. I thought I could see Austen in the front, a look of joy on his face. Though I appreciated their relief, I didn't mind them so much. All I cared about was the simple fact; I had saved Hicca. She was alive…

Stoick slowly let his gaze fall from Hicca's face to my own. His expression showed utter happiness and relief, and also surprise.

"You…you saved my daughter," he breathed. "You saved my baby girl…"

'…That's the thing about us dragons,' I smiled. 'No matter what you may assume of us, we will fight to the death to protect the ones we love.'

Stoick stared down at me, shock written all over his face. I then leaned forward so my snout brushed under Hicca's limp hand, and sighed.

'Hicca's my best friend…and I'll protect her from anything and anyone until the day I die…'

I looked back up at Stoick, and saw that he had a surprised but soft expression on his face. I could see now that he finally understood. Then, he slowly leaned forward, lifted his large hand, and placed it gently on my head. I smiled, sighing as I laid my head on the ground.

"Thank you," he said. "For saving my daughter."

I smiled softly up at him, not having enough strength just yet for another word. Then I heard the shuffling of feet, and out the corner of my eye I saw the man named Gobber march up to us.

"Well, yah know, _most _of her."

Stoick glared up at him, and Gobber just shrugged. Though not having enough strength for much more, I turned my head to glare up at him as well.

'You're not helping,' I said shortly.

"Well…what would yah rather me say?"

'Nothing would be greatly appreciated.'

* * *

**Oh my gods...this took...literally..._FOREVER _to write! But, I feel that I wrote it beautifully, and I did it for you, ladies and gents! Hopefully i will have the next and last chapter up BEFORE Friday, if not... Well, better late than never. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, cause I did. I'll see yah later!**

**PS: I will DEFINITELY be doing something on the story 'Gift of the Night Fury.' But I need some advise. Should I add it to this story, or make an entirely separate thing for it? I'll leave the vote up to you guys! I'll let you know my decision on the next chapter!**


	17. I'm Home

**Here it is... the final chapter... of this story! Yes, my dears, i've finally managed to finish my story for Hicca and Toothless. It's 11:06, and it's Saturday. I'm two days late on posting this from when i wanted to, and I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! I just loved writing this so much... but i'm not done! Like i mentioned in the last chapter, i plan on doing something on 'Gift of the Night Fury.' Now, i asked you guys if you wanted me to add it to this as an epilogue, or as a separate story. The votes are in...**

**Epilogue: 4**

**Separate: 1**

**So, they yah have it! 'Gift of the Night Fury' will be an epilogue! Now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Ch. 17  
I'm Home

Toothless' P.O.V.

It had been two weeks since the battle with the Red Death, and Hicca had been unconscious ever since. I had been by her side since we had left that island, and I hadn't left her side since we had arrived back at Berk. The only time that there was any issue was when they had to amputate the rest of her left leg off. Turns out I hadn't completely bitten off her leg, only some of it. They had to cut off the rest of it from the bottom of her knee down, and I wasn't very happy about that. It had gotten to the point where I was about to fight people off her. But Austen had managed to calm me down, telling me that the rest of her leg would get infected and it would only get worse. I still didn't like it, but I didn't want anything worse to happen to Hicca either. I couldn't leave her, but I couldn't watch either. It was agony having to sit through them doing it, but I didn't want to leave her.

I stayed still, sitting silently next to the bed that held my dear Hicca. Her bed had been moved from her room upstairs and placed next to the fire pit downstairs. Now she lay there, wrapped tightly in her dark blankets, her loose hair sprawled out on her pillow like a brown halo. I watched her closely, watching her chest slowly rise up and down as she breathed through her slightly opened mouth. I looked all over her small face, and saw all the bruises and cuts that had yet to heal completely. I sat close to her, holding her small hand gently in both of mine.

"Please, wake up," I breathed. "You have to wake up…you can't leave me here…"

But she remained silent. Now, I didn't want her to wake up sooner than she needed to(the human healers said that comas after something like this was natural), but I still wanted her to wake up. To be near me. To let me hold her and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly I heard a soft knocking from behind me. I slowly turned my head around. Hicca's father was there, standing in the doorway. He looked a little surprised at seeing me, but not as surprised as he had been the first time he had seen me in my other form(he looked like he was going to faint the first time he did, which was only once).

"Hello."

I didn't speak, but nodded. I turned my head away from him and looked back down at Hicca. I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards me and the sound of wood sliding against the floor. I glanced over and saw Stoick set a wooden stool down on the other side of the bed before sitting down on it. He didn't say anything, but resulted to look at Hicca as well. I had nothing to say, so I stayed silent.

"You know, first time I saw yah like this, I thought I was insane," said Stoick. "I guess I wasn't, huh?"

I shook my head. There was another stretch of silence. He leaned over his seat, stretching his hand out to brush Hicca's bangs behind her ear.

"She told me how different you dragons were, but I didn't listen to her. I didn't listen to a word…"

I sighed. "You were mad and confused, it's understandable."

"Is it? Is it understandable for a father tah not listen to his only daughter?"

I didn't say anything to that. I didn't really know what to say. He sighed.

"Listen, I know I've said this already, but…" he turned to look at me. "I'm really sorry."

I looked up at him, and one look in his eyes told me that he meant every word he said. I nodded.

"You're forgiven," I looked back down.

"So," he started, as though trying to sound casual. "You…you really like my daughter, huh?"

I gave a small laugh. "No sir, I don't like her."

"No?"

"No…I love her."

He blinked at me, looking a little surprised. I shrugged, not seeing anything unusual with what I said. Stoick swallowed.

"Can I ask yah somthin', lad?"

"Sure."

"Um, I'm just wondering… why do you love her?" he asked. "I mean, wouldn't another dragon be more…preferable for you?"

A second later Stoick faltered slightly under the glare I shot him. Didn't he understand? I would love Hicca whether she was a dragon, human, or otherwise. It didn't matter to me who or what she was, I loved her for her heart and soul.

"I can see why you would think something like that," I said, trying not to sound cold. "But it's not as simple as that. We aren't like normal animals who just mate out of instinct, we mate out of love for our other one. I've never been able to find a dragon that suited me, and because of that I gave up on finding my other half a long time ago. But, Hicca isn't just another sweet human…she's an incredible, wonderful being all together. She's caring and full of compassion, she's more forgiving than anyone I've ever known, and she's so selfless that it's just…"

I shook my head a little, letting out a soft sigh. Stoick made a small gesture with his hand, telling me to keep going.

"She saved my life, she helped me to fly again, and she became the best friend I could ever ask for. But I love her as more than a friend, I love her as my companion and much more. I want to be with her whenever I can and for as long as I can," I sighed, then brought Hicca's hand up and kissed it. "And as soon as she wakes up, I'm gonna hold onto her and never let go."

There was only silence after I said this. Stoick seemed speechless as he stared at me, his eyes going from Hicca's face to mine. Then he sighed.

"Well, if that's how you truly feel, then…I don't see anything wrong with you two being together."

I whipped my head around, staring at him in amazement. But before I could do more than open my mouth there was a loud knocking and the door opened. I turned around to see Austen standing in the door.

"Toothless, it's me- Oh…"

He stopped when he saw Stoick, and shifted his feet uncomfortably. Stoick cleared his throat before he stood up from his seat.

"Well, um…I guess I'll go to the Great Hall, then."

I nodded. Without another word he turned and started to walk away. I heard him quietly greet Austen, and Austen did the same. He waited until we heard the door shut before he started walking towards me.

"Hey."

I nodded, not saying anything.

"How's she doing?"

I shrugged. "She's still sleeping."

Austen sighed before walking over and taking Stoick's seat.

"I just can't believe this," he said, sounding like he was whispering. "How could something like this happen to Hicca? Why her?"

"She knew what the consequences would be if she went through with it," I said, and it was the truth. "She knew what she was getting herself into. I'm not saying I'm happy about it," I added at the look Austen gave me. "But it was her choice, and you know she would've done it even if someone had tried to stop her."

Austen opened his mouth to retaliate, but a second later he closed it and nodded. He looked down at Hicca, and so did I.

"Two whole weeks…and here I was, thinking she'd be up by the time we got here."

"Don't beat yourself up, we all thought she'd be up before now," Austen paused. "Listen, I know I probably don't have any right to say this, but…"

"You were the first Viking after Hicca to accept dragons, you practically begged her for forgiveness after you acted like a jerk to her, and you helped us defeat the Red Death. I think that makes you qualified to say anything."

I gave him a stern look, trying to show how much I meant what I said. Austen stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

"Right, well…" he took a deep breath. "I have no doubt now that you love her, so I'm just gonna say this; I might not have been her friend for very long, but I definitely am now. You just be careful with what yah do with her, or you'll have to answer to her dad. And _then _me."

I blinked, staring at him. Then I laughed, in spite of myself. Austen laughed too, shaking his head as he slumped his shoulders over.

"Don't worry," I chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of trying to get on your bad side. I mean, you were so _fearless _when we first met."

Austen reared his head back and let out a loud laugh, and I smiled. A second later there was a soft, low muffled sound, like someone whispering.

"You say something?" I asked.

Austen shook his head. Then I heard it again, this time much louder. For some reason I felt my eyes glance over and fall onto Hicca's sleeping form. For a few moments nothing changed. Then something happened that made my mighty heart stop.

A low, raspy moan escaped Hicca's parted lips.

I stared in amazement, thinking maybe I imagined it, but then I felt her fingers twitch inside my hand. I gasped, so surprised that my grip on her hand had slackened. She moved…she actually moved! But then, does that mean…

"A-Austen…?"

He didn't respond. But a second later he jumped out of his seat.

"I-I think she's waking up," he said, his voice shaking. "Oh gods, she's waking up! I gotta find the chief!"

And without another word he turned on his heel and ran out the door, slamming it shut behind him. But I paid him no mind. I had eyes only for Hicca. I swallowed hard, moving out of my seat and kneeling down in front of her. I picked up her hand and clasped it tightly with both of my own, my arms shaking slightly. I sighed, then leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. I pulled away only a little bit, staring at her closely.

"Come on, you can do it," I whispered. "Wake up. You don't have to get up right away, but you can still wake up… Please, wake up…"

Then- it was as though the gods themselves were listening to me- I saw her eyes open ever so slightly, and I could see the faintest color of forest green beneath her heavy lids.

* * *

Hicca's P.O.V.

After what felt like forever a single stream of light seemed to cut through the darkness that surrounded me. Low and golden, almost like the light from a sunset. But even as the light grew more there was still a large spot of darkness that refused to disappear, and instead remained there in front of me. I felt my eyes blink, and I saw that the dark spot was actually a person. How strange… I blinked again, and the person-shaped spot became clearer, not to mention lighter in some places. I blinked several times this time, and suddenly the shape came into focus. A tall, dark-haired boy with bright skin, electric green eyes, and dressed in black was staring up at me as he kneeled next to the bed.

It was Toothless.

"H-Hicca?"

Toothless sat up quickly, a look of surprise on his face. I blinked a few more times, and smiled up at him.

"H-hey, Toothless…"

"Oh, Hicca!"

Without warning Toothless stood up and lunged, throwing his arms around me. Despite the fact that I felt exhausted and very surprised I wrapped my arms around his neck, chuckling slightly.

"Hehe, I'm happy to see you, too, bud. I- Mm!"

Suddenly Toothless grabbed my face with both of his hands and brought his lips to my own. I blinked, staring at him as he began to kiss me. Within seconds I slowly started to kiss him back, my eyes fluttering closed, and my heart nearly melting. Soon both of his hands slid to the back of my head, his fingers running smoothly through my hair, and I realized that my hair was out of its braid. I lifted one of my hands up to rest on his shoulder, and I grabbed onto the ripped sleeve of his tunic slightly. For some reason I opened my eyes slightly as I continued to kiss him. I glanced over to the side, and what I saw shocked me. I was in my bed, next to the fire grate, _in my house_!

I was so surprised that I gasped, breaking the kiss as I did. I placed my hand on Toothless' chest to push him away slightly as I looked around.

"What's wrong, Hicca?" he said, sounding surprisingly excited.

"Uhh…I'm in my house…" I gasped, then I snapped my head towards him. "Uh, y-you're in my house…!"

Suddenly Toothless let out a loud, bark-like laugh before leaping to his feet. Before I could do anything he jumped up and started to jump all along the floor and the walls, singing happily.

"Ha ha! _I'm in your house_! _I'm in your house_!"

"Uhh, does my dad know you're here?"

"Of course he does! He let me in!"

"What?!"

Toothless ignored me and ran up to me. He flung his arm around my neck and kissed me long on my cheek.

"W-wait, Toothless-!"

He just smiled and continued running around, still laughing. Eventually he jumped up and grabbed onto a wooden beam up by the roof. He pulled himself up and placed his feet on his so he was crouching. I yelled to get his attention, and he bent over so he was looking at me upside-down from the other side, his hair and ears flopping down.

"Toothless, get down!"

"But I don't wanna get down!" he wined, hanging his head down in mock sadness as he started to swing back and forth a little.

"No no, Toothless- Toothless! Aw, come on…"

I leaned up and started to get up when I stopped. I had meant to move my legs to stand up, but something felt…off. I sat back and turned my head as I slowly lifted the blanket up, and I saw… I gasped. What I saw shocked, horrified and overwhelmed me all at once. It couldn't be real, I had to be dreaming. But I knew I wasn't. I blinked several times, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

I heard a loud thud from next to me and I glanced up. Toothless had finally gotten off the beam and was walking towards me, a worried look on his face.

"Hicca, are you okay?"

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Instead I let out a soft breath and looked down at myself. I knew this was real, and I would be forced to deal with it. I sighed as I turned myself in my bed. First I set my right foot down on the floor, then next to it I set down…my left prosthetic that started at the bottom of my knee then down. The metal spring attached to the wood squeaked slightly as I pressed it on the ground. I stared down at it, dumbstruck. Honestly, I didn't know what to do, say, or think. Whatever I had expected to happen to me, I did not expect this at all. But then, what did I expect? To come out like nothing ever happened? No, somehow I knew something would happen to me, and I had accepted it without question.

As I kept my eyes down on my prosthetic I saw a pair of black boots come into view. A second later Toothless kneeled down in front of me, his face now level with my own. As I looked up at him I saw that his eyes had become glossy.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, his voice shaking. "I tried- I tried my best. I tried to reach for your arms or something but you were too far. So…I grabbed onto your leg with my mouth, but…I…"

He couldn't go on. He rested his head in one of his hands and he started shaking, soft noises coming from him. He was crying. I swallowed. Toothless had never cried in front of me before, I didn't think he could cry. And yet, here he was, sobbing because he couldn't save my left leg. _But, he saved me…he should be happy… _I reached over and held his cheek in my hand. I felt something moist on my fingers, but I ignored it. Toothless stopped shaking and slowly lifted his head to look at me. His bright eyes were watery, and a few streaks fell halfway down his pale cheeks. I sighed, lifted my other hand to cup his face.

"Hey, it's okay," I said gently. "You did everything you could. I mean, think about what would've happened if you hadn't done what you did. I'd probably be dead. I'm alive because of you, and I can never repay you for that."

I lifted my left hand from his cheek and wiped the water from his eyes and face. He sniffed, his hand coming up to scratch his nose. Then he let out a long breath, and he looked down at my left leg. He slowly raised his hand up and gently rested it on my left knee. As I felt his fingers slowly slide down I half expected to feel them on the rest of my leg, but after they passed the bottom of my knee I felt nothing. I gulped, but I didn't react too much. Toothless sighed, then looked up at me.

"No doubt now," he said. "You're the most extraordinary person I've ever met."

I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then he grabbed my right hand that was still on his cheek and kissed it. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit, indicating that I must be blushing.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"…About two weeks."

I blinked in surprise, but it wasn't as shocking as I thought it would be. It could've been a lot worse I suppose. I looked down at my leg, wondering what to do now. I then sighed, for that was a stupid thing to ask. _I should at least try to stand… _I placed both of my hands at my sides on the bed, taking several breaths. _1...2...3._ I slowly pushed my self up off the bed and Toothless instantly hopped to his feet. At first I thought he was going to tell me to sit back down, but when I looked over at him I saw he was watching me carefully, his hands held out slightly. I swallowed hard as I placed all my weight on my right leg, then slowly started to put pressure on my left. I winced as I felt a twinge of pain, but I shook it off. I looked over at Toothless, who nodded.

"Take your time."

I nodded, then took a deep breath. _Well, here I go._ I took a step with my left foot, and instantly pain struck through it.

"Ahh!"

My knees buckled and I fell forward. But before I hit the ground Toothless lunged forward and caught me in his arms. I breathed heavily as the pain in my leg slowly vanished and I looked up at him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," I nodded. "Just need practice, that's all."

He smiled. "Don't worry. No matter how many times you trip, I'll never let you fall."

I giggled slightly, and he smiled even more. _Gods, whose idea was it to make this guy so damn charming? _Toothless helped push me up to my feet, and I slowly put most of my weight on my right foot, and the rest on my left. Toothless wrapped his arm around my back to help me stay up and I held onto his shoulder.

"Thanks, bud."

"No problem."

Slowly he started to help lead me to the door. I limped a little as I walked on my prosthetic, but somehow it seemed easier than the first time I tried to step on it. By the time we reached the door Toothless had moved his hand to hold under my elbow and my hand now rested loosely on his shoulder. I took one step forward and quickly grabbed the door handle and opened it. I looked outside and saw a Monstrous Nightmare right on my front porch. I gasped and slammed the door shut.

"Hicca, what's wrong?" Toothless asked.

I shook my head. "Toothless, stay here."

I turned around and opened the door, peering my head out to look. The Nightmare was still there, but this time I saw…Snotlout on it's back!

"Alright guys, ready?" he called out. "Hold on tight, here we go!"

Suddenly he flew off, and several other dragons followed him. I blinked in confusion and opened the door more.

"What the…"

But I couldn't finish. I was just so shocked that I couldn't speak. When I walked outside there was only one thing that I noticed. Dragons; dragons everywhere. On the roofs of houses, in the middle of the town center, and eating fish out of the towers that once served as fire pits. All of this was going on and there wasn't a single sword in sight, or a small dagger flying through the air. No one was fighting or angry or anything. I slowly stepped out more, looking around in amazement.

"…I knew it. I'm dead."

That was all I could say. I mean, what else would explain this? At that point I heard deep chuckling from behind me and I a large hand clasp my shoulder.

"No, but yah gave it your best shot."

It was my dad. I turned to look at him, and saw he had a smile on his face as he led me down the stairs of our house.

"So, what do yah think?" he asked.

I stared. What did I think? Well, if this is what I think it is…then it was the best thing that could ever happen!

"Hey, look! It's Hicca!"

I blinked as somebody called out my name. Suddenly everybody who had heard turned their heads towards me and my father. At once they all started to run up to us, calling and waving at me. I couldn't help but stare, smiling slightly. As they continued running up to us my dad continued to lead me towards them until finally I was surrounded by a bunch of surprisingly happy Vikings.

"Turns out all we needed was a little more of…" my dad gestured all over me. "This."

I stared. "But…you just gestured to all of me."

My dad's smiled widen as he nodded. I smiled brightly up at him.

"Well, most of yah."

I turned my head to look behind my dad. Gobber came walking up, pushing past the other Vikings.

"That bit's my handy work," he said, pointing at my prosthetic. "With a little 'Hicca flare' thrown in it. Yah think it'll do?"

I smiled up at him. I should've known that Gobber would be the one to make my new leg. I sighed mockingly, glancing down at my leg.

"Eh, I don't know… I might a _few _tweaks."

I smirked as chuckles rang out from everyone around me. I laughed too, smiling around them.

'Cheeky girl, isn't she?'

I paused. _I know that voice…_ I turned around to look at my uncle Spitelout standing behind me. I glanced around him and noticed he had a Terrible Terror on his shoulder. I squinted at it.

"Hey, I know you… you're the Terror from the ring!"

'She remembers me!'

The Terror chirped happily as he climbed down my uncle's arm and reached out for me. I giggled, reaching up to pet his head. He purred as he leaned into my hand, and more people chuckled. Suddenly something pushed my shoulder hard. I yelped and turned around. Austen was standing there, smiling at me. _Did he really just punch me?_

"That's for scaring me."

I groaned. "Oh, come on! Is it always gonna be this way? Cause if it is-"

But before I could finish Austen grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I blinked, then smiled as I hugged him back.

"I could get used to it."

Austen chuckled before pulling away, smiling down at me. Then, I don't know why, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead like he did before. I stared at him, but then I saw the look on his face. I knew then that it was not meant as a romantic gesture, but as a friendly one. _Okay, I can get used to that, too._

"Ahem…"

I turned around. Gobber was standing there, holding a large red and brown bundle in his beefy arms. He held it out to me, and I took it.

"Welcome home," he said kindly.

I smiled up at him. _Home…I'm home… _Then I looked down at the bundle in my arms and nearly gasped. I recognized the material and the design. It was a new tail! Gobber made a new tail for Toothless! Oh, the things I could say to him…

"Night Fury! Get down!"

"That's no Night Fury, it's a boy!"

"But he's got wings!"

I whipped my head around at the sound of those words. Now, I had expected Toothless to just be running through the crowd or something, but what I saw was the opposite. Toothless, still in his humanoid form, was jumping up on top of all the other Vikings' heads and shoulders.

"Hey, watch your head! Wow, coming through!"

It took all the will power I had in my tiny body to not fall on the ground and laugh my ass off, but I couldn't help laughing as one by one, each Viking that he jumped on fell to the ground. The ones who were lucky enough to not get jumped quickly ran out of range. Once the last Viking had fallen, Toothless hopped down in front of me, a wide smile on his face.

"I'm back," he said happily. "Miss me?"

I laughed. "Oh, yes! The thirty seconds without you was just devastating!"

Behind me I heard Austen laugh, and Toothless laughed as well. I was just thinking about going up to kiss him when I remembered that my dad was still there. I stopped then turned to face him. He definitely knew about my feelings for Toothless by now, but did he accept them? Or would that be the one thing he couldn't except?

"Oh! That reminds me," my dad walked up to me. "Hicca, if you're serious about how you feel about Toothless, then I will allow you to see him."

I gasped, feeling overwhelmed with shock and pure joy.

"R-really?" I stuttered. "You don't mind?"

"He saved your life, dear. I think that makes him more than good enough to be your boyfriend," he turned his gaze towards Toothless. "As long as he knows what's allowed and what's _not _allowed."

Toothless nodded. "Trust me, sir," he walked up and held my hand. "Your acceptance is one of the best things you could give me right now."

My dad smiled. "Of course," he looked at me. "I'll still need to have a word with him later."

"Dad…" I groaned.

"You're father's right," said Gobber. "But he just needs tah know of the boy's intensions and maybe more about him. I mean, we don't even know how old he is-"

"Can you please not?" I said loudly.

Toothless chuckled. "It's okay, Hicca, I don't mind," then he turned to Gobber. "And for the record, I'm sixteen in-a-half."

My dad blinked, staring at him. He seemed completely baffled at the idea of his fifteen year-old daughter being with someone who was a year and-a-half older than her(but, he had already accepted it). Gobber just placed his fists on his sides, letting out a loud laugh. I laughed too and turned to look at Toothless. He smiled down at me lovingly, then his gaze fell to the tail in my hands. He gasped.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yep," I held it out. "What do yah say, bud? You wanna go flying?"

"YES!"

Toothless cheered as he leaped into the air. He closed his wings around himself so he was hidden for a second while he was in midair, and a second later reopened them to reveal he had changed into his original form. He landed hard on his paws, a large gummy smile on his face. All the adults stared in awe.

My dad shifted. "Well, that was…"

"Awesome!" me and Austen said in unison.

Ignoring the shocked expressions on the other Vikings I ran up and started to unfold the new tail, discovering my harness to be stuffed in the bundle. Austen ran off, saying he was going to get his own dragon for a race. I smiled as I put on my harness. After that I strapped the new tail on Toothless, making sure he was comfortable.

"So, I guess we really are dating now, huh?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

'Weren't we already?' he asked, sounding confused. 'I thought that was clear when I said it in the ring before.'

"What are you talking about?"

'Remember when I was fighting that Nightmare, and I called you my companion?' I nodded. 'Well, that's what dragons call each other. Before they are officially mates, they are in a relationship for a certain amount of time, and they call each other 'companions'. Don't humans call each other that? Or do they say something else?"

I didn't respond, I just stared at him. So, if what he said is true, then technically…he thought of me as his girlfriend long before now. Just the thought of that made me feel warm inside.

"N-no, we call them 'boyfriends' and 'girlfriends,'" I said, trying to not let my voice shake.

'Oh, I thought I heard something like that. Well, just so it's more official,' he smiled over at me. 'Hicca, will you be my compan- erm, girlfriend?'

I giggled. "Yes, I will. But, you can call me whatever yah want."

Toothless smiled, looking happier then ever. I smiled, too. Then a small thought came to my head.

"Oh, and just so we're clear, no weird baby names, got it?"

Toothless laughed, and nodded. I smiled. Then I heard a loud screeching noise from above me. I looked up to see Austen riding on the Deadly Nadder from the ring. They landed next to us and I stood up.

"You two seemed to get along well," I said.

'Very well, actually,' said the Nadder.

'Yeah? How well exactly?' Toothless asked.

Austen smiled. "Hicca, Toothless…I'd like you to meet Stormfly."

I stared as the dragon gave a loud cooing sound. Did I just hear that _the_ Austen Hofferson named a dragon? His dragon? I walked up to Stormfly, reaching a hand up and petting her snout.

"Stormfly…that's a beautiful name," I said sweetly.

'Thank you,' she said, smiling. 'Austen came up with it all by himself.'

I smiled up at Austen. "Looks like you're becoming a good dragon trainer already."

He chuckled. "Yeah, alright. You ready to race now?"

I nodded. Walked over to Toothless and slowly hopped onto his back. I hooked my harness up and placed my foot to the stirrup. It was then that I discovered that it had been remodeled to match my prosthetic leg. There was a loud click as the metal part of my leg hooked into stirrup, connecting perfectly like two puzzle pieces. I moved it around, getting the feel of it before opening the tail. I looked behind me and saw the tail was bright red and had the Berk crest painted on it in white. I smiled as I turned around, watching Austen and Stormfly line up with me and Toothless.

"You ready?" I asked him.

He nodded. 'I was born ready.'

I smiled, and lifted my face up. I blinked as I stared all around me, seeing Vikings and dragons together everywhere. I even saw a couple of dragons in their humanoid form, a few Viking surrounding them, deep in conversation. I smiled. _Now this I can get used to. _I gave Austen a small wink before I patted Toothless' head, and we took off…

This is Berk. It snows nine months of the year and hales the other three. It's not the best kind of weather, but we've grown accustomed to it. The food isn't the best either. Anything that grows here is tough and tasteless; the people that grow here are even more so. Well, I guess you can say I've grown accustomed to _them_. Really, the only upsides are the pets, and in some cases, _boyfriends_. While other places have ponies or parrots, and other girls have hunters or fighters, we have…

_Dragons…_

_Yep, I am definitely home._

* * *

**And there yah have it! It's over! Well, not yet, but this part is. ****Now, i don't know when i'll post the 'Gift of the Night Fury', but i definitely will soon! Oh! And for those of you who have asked whether or not I'll do a story on the sequel, I most definitely will! It might not be until i'm able to get the movie on disk, but rest assure, it will be here soon.**

******See y'all for the epilogue, dearies! :)**


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